To Raise a Human -
by Vendrasola
Summary: A collection of stories that explore Elias' and Chise's various relationship dynamics and how they work together. Elias learns what it means to raise a human, finding himself sometimes being the one learning... Chise learns how to be a teen and what it means to grow up, leaving behind a childhood she never had..together they find balance as they both develop their humanity together
1. To Raise a Human

"Elia-"

"Chise," Elias abruptly interrupted his apprentice, lowering the book he had just opened moments before. "What did we just speak about?" He crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side, looking at Chise from his chair in the living room. She was positioned in the corner of the room, but turned and looking at him with a small pout under a deep crimson blush.

Chise sighed and turned back, facing the unsurprisingly immaculately clean wall. She studied the pattern in the wallpaper Silky had put in, watching the light of the fire make the designs dance. She shifted her weight and looked down, fiddling with her ring.

"Eyes forward," Elias spoke up before bringing his book back up and continuing where he left off; legs crossed, chin resting on his free hand, a mindful eye on Chise.

 _This is so embarrassing._ Chise felt tears welling up in her eyes. _This is a punishment for children. Not 16 year old mages._

 _Ruth?_

Nothing. This was something she was tasked to go through alone. _What_ _did_ _Elias tell me to do?_

Oh, right.

" _Think about your actions and their consequences."_

She groaned internally, her stomach in knots thinking back to this morning.

"When you're finished with those orders, continue on with the next chapter or so of your book. Write down your questions and we'll go over them when I get back." Elias took a sip of the tea Chise prepared for him. His apprentice nodded and grunted out an _mmh hmm_ as she chewed the last bits of sausage from her breakfast. She covered her mouth, still full, with her hand and asked when he'd be returning. "Tonight, before bedtime but probably after dinner." Elias paused, watching her swallow and move on to finishing her own cup of tea, which Silky promptly refilled.

She sat back and took a deep breath as if she came up out of water to breathe. "Thank you, Silky." She smiled politely at her brownie and was taken aback by a loud grumble from her stomach. Silky stared at her briefly before quickly preparing another plate for Chise, who was holding her stomach and looking bewildered.

Elias studied her facial expression. Why was she so puzzled? "You are still hungry, Chise."

"Famished, actually." Silky placed another plate in from of her and Chise continued eating. "But thank you for your observation. I just don't know why. Normally I can't finish a plate this big and I'm on my second. I think I'm being spoiled." She turned to Silky who hurriedly turned to clean up the counters.

"You have been practicing much more lately, focusing on control. It can serve as an intense workout. You're exercising yourself in ways you never had before, it's understandable." Elias stood up and straightened his shirt. "I have to be going." He walked over to her and placed a gloved hand on her red head. "Be a good little puppy while I'm gone? He leaned down and nuzzled her cheek. She placed a hand on his skull and turned, giving him a gentle and loving peck on the side of his head. She grinned up at him.

"I always am." He chuckled at that. "You never told me where you're going or what you're doing."

"Just business with a-"

"Just business with an acquaintance." Chise interrupted him, finishing his sentence. The Magus placed his hands on his hips and playfully glared at her. "Goodbye Elias."

"If you need me-"

"I know, I know."

"Remember our rules."

"Mmhmm" Chise waved at him as she stuffed her mouth again. "Goodbye Elias." And with that, he flipped his facial covering over his skull and headed out. As soon as he got just out of sight Chise hopped out of her chair and padded over to the window to see him leave. She felt a chill move up her spine and a pang of loneliness. Already. It had been months since he left her for so long and even though she was used to his secrecy in his business, it still made her uneasy not knowing who he was seeing and why. She tried shaking the feeling and went on with her day.

The medicine making went well. It was a recipe she'd done ten times over and a newer one she only needed to redo twice. Okay, three times. But she needed the practice. She spent time in the forest replenishing her herbal stock she had used for the medicines and enjoyed a picnic outside with Ruth and Silky at lunch. Afterwards, Chise helped Silky clean and Ruth went to take a nap in his sunny spot on the porch.

Chise took a seat at her desk and diligently began studying. She made sure to write down every question that popped into her head. She was learning if she didn't ask a significant amount of questions Elias took her materials from her and tested her on the spot, usually resulting in a magical blunder. The last time she assumed understanding, the entire upstairs ended up overflowing wth ladybugs. She wasn't even sure how it happened, but the Silver Lady was not pleased and Elias demonstrated his grasp of the concept of being annoyed, especially when the bugs decided he smelled enough like the forest to cling to him like moths to a light. Chise giggled remembering how he nearly stripped naked and jumped into the river, gargling with the water because they were everywhere. **Everywhere**.

Nope, that wasn't going to happen again. She'd pass his next test with flying colors. It wasn't until Ruth nuzzled his wet nose on her cheek that she realized she had fallen asleep where she sat. With a start, she straightened up and yawned, looking towards the window. It was still light out.

"How long was I asleep?" She patted Ruth's head and ran her fingers over his soft, velvety ears.

"Only about an hour." He knocked her hand with his head when she stopped, urging for more pets. Chise obliged. "I only just now came up to wake you. I figured you could use the rest."

"Thank you, Ruth." The mage-in-training turned back to her studies and sighed. She'd only made it half way through the chapter she started and looking over her notes she didn't remember any of it. She frustratingly set her forehead on the desk, sliding her work away from her. "I wonder where Elias is?" His words from before rang in her mind...he was only gone on business. She couldn't help but want to ease the burning curiosity. What was he hiding from her?

"Ruth, could you run a patrol around the estate?" Her familiar eyed her cautiously, knowing exactly what she was planning on doing. "Please?" He narrowed his red eyes at her.

"Don't do anything stupid." Chise stared at him. "I'm serious, too! That Magus of yours will have my pelt in a second if you were hurt under my watch."

"You're not responsible for me when he's not here, Ruth. Stop being so dramatic. We both know that would never happen." She opened the door and motioned him out. He complied with a grumble and a knot in his stomach.

Chise found herself creeping in to her teacher's study. She'd not been barred from entry, of course, but she'd never gone in without Elias with her, save for the few times she was sent in to retrieve certain books. Or when they were cleaning the study together, where she had gotten quite familiar with the collection he had and noted a few books she knew were probably too advanced but wanted to peek at anyways.

One in particular: Tacitus Noverim.

It was an old book. An OLD book. Not exactly ancient as it's collector, but still old. She knew exactly where she put it and withdrew it from the top of the shelf. Setting it on the desk, she sat herself down in the oversized chair and ran a finger along it's spine and cover. It was bound in a dark brown leather with a red silk ribbon lining the edges. It's title was neatly hand written on the front in a shiney metallic material she didn't recognize. She cracked open the front page and thumbed through it carefully, the pages thick yet fragile to the touch. She almost wondered if it would be better to use magic to turn the pages.

Her wondering was cut short when she fell to the page she wanted: Aperire Viam. Her Latin wasn't nearly as fluent as her English but she was learning more every day. She dug in and began digesting the information. It clicked with her and she grew excited when she realized she had all the materials to perform the spell.

She scribbled down the instructions and quickly but carefully returned the book to its place. She hurried to her room and closed the door, locking it, drawing the curtains and readying her materials. She stopped and took a deep breath before slowly pulling on her cloak. She rarely wore it but it meant more to her than just some fabric and gave her more confidence in her magic abilities. Especially since Elias wasn't there to oversee her, she wanted to be the real deal.

 _Elias_...

Truth be told she was nervous. If this wasn't so easy she may even have started reconsidering but she knew she could do it. And if it failed, no harm done. Either way, nobody would know. Well, save for Ruth. She hoped he'd be more trustworthy to her than to rat her out.

 _I'll be fine._

She grasped her wand and knelt before her bundled dried herbs she had lit red-hot and blew on until all that remained was smoke filling the room. She consulted her notes, dipped the end of the bundle in the small plate of white sand and began her incantation.

 _Singing robin, dancing vines_

 _Seek the sun, find the wind_

 _Play the stories of now_

 _Celeritas et celatum_

 _Revelare a fumo._

 _Incunctanter_

She held her wand with two hands in front of her, head bowed towards her notes. As expected, when she finished and looked up, the smoke was growing thicker and began swirling above her. She focussed her magic and thought of Elias, wishing to see him. She raised her wand into the thick spiraling smoke and felt magic wash over her. She closed her eyes and held her breath as it filled her body and spirit.

Suddenly she felt weightless and her ears rang a deafening pitch. She opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. She wasn't in her room, or on the ground for that matter. She was outside in an area she'd never been before, hanging in the air. She looked down and spotted Elias in his human form leaning against a post on a dirt road in some village. Two people were next to him, definitely human, both in long overcoats. One was conversing with her teacher, the other was absent mindedly using a cell phone in one hand and holding a large cloth bag in the other. She saw Elias placing an envelope in his jacket pocket.

Chise's vision went cloudy and she realized she couldn't breathe. She couldn't hear anything either.

 _Oh no._

Panic set in quickly. She opened her mouth to suck in air but could not. She could feel her veins growing tight in her body, her eyes felt like they were going to pop out of her skull. She was stuck and couldn't move. How do I end it? She realized in her haste to perform this spell she neglected to learn how to stop it. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling consciousness slipping from her body. She pulled on whatever magic she could muster and begged to be released. Her last sight before she fell to the darkness was Elias placing a hand on his ringed finger. She swore he looked up, but was already gone.

Chise..Chise...CHISE!

Elias was on his knees in her room, cradling her small frame against his. She was blue in the face, lips purple, and completely limp. The Magus observed her body and their surroundings, quickly comprehending exactly what had transpired. In one swift motion his right hand waved and the curtains and windows flung open, sucking the remaining smoke out and flooding the room with the light of the late afternoon.

Elias placed his large hand behind her head and lowered her to the floor. He moved one leg over her body and straddled her on his knees. Still in human form, he raised her chin up, pinched her nostrils closed and brought his lips to hers, pumping air into her lungs thrice. He pulled back and stared at her. Nothing.

He did so again and again. Still his wife's body lay there, lifeless.

Adeep growl emitted from inside his own body and he knelt down again, breathing air into her once more while simultaneously ripping a glove off and then tearing through her shirt, revealing the top of the her chest. With the glow of magic forming in his palm, he put one more breath into her and placed his deep violet hand on her skin, firmly between her breasts.

Success. Life came back to her pale skin and her chest rose and fell violently as it sucked in much needed oxygen. Elias sighed a deep sigh of relief and pulled her back up to him, morphing into his usual form. He held her to him tightly, her head resting on his chest. Her cold body slowly found it's warmth again. The Magus ran his ungloved hand through her red hair, which was matted down with sweat. Resting his hand on her cheek, he saw his apprentice's green eyes slowly open.

Then came a scratching at the door.

"Chise?!" Ruth whined.

Elias glanced at the door and looked back at his wife. Chise was still in a bit of a fog but she knew two things: one: she failed and two: everyone knew it. The redhead's green eyes filled with tears. She was scared, disappointed and pained from the whole experience. She looked up at her teacher, her husband, and buried her head in his chest.

Elias flipped down his cloth over his face, putting a barrier of sorts between him and Chise. He was going through a rollercoaster of intense feelings he couldn't comprehend but he did know one of the feelings was anger. Anger with Chise. And he hated it. Calming the storm inside him, he spoke deeply and carefully.

"Chise, did you lock the door?" He pulled her away from him and tilted her chin up to face him.

She could hear the hurt in his voice. She couldn't see it, but she could hear it and it ignited a storm of her own inside her. "I-I..." She nodded and looked down at her hands. Then at her bare chest, puzzled. Before she could ask or act, Elias picked her up and set her down on her bed. "Huh?" He knelt down without saying anything more and picked up her materials she used, including her notes. His suspiscions were confirmed...

"Who gave you this information?"

"Chise?"

"..." She couldn't bear to answer him.

"Please finish cleaning this up. We will talk about this after dinner." He stood up and spun around on his heel, refusing to look at her. He swung the door open and Ruth stumbled in, having been propped against it listening in. He started a trot towards Chise but Elias stopped him, grabbing a handful of the scruff of his neck. "Come with me, Ruth." He released him. Ruth stared at Chise a moment, ensuring she was okay before following Elias out of the room with his ears dropped back and head hung low.

"Elias!" Chise jumped out of her bed and towards the door. "Wait, he didn't-" Her bedroom door closed, rather forcefully, in front of her, causing her to jump back.

 _Ruth._

 _It's okay, Chise. He's just talking to me._ She knew he'd never hurt her familiar, but she hated to think of Ruth catching Elias' fury on her account. _...that was beyond stupid._

Chise tried calming herself. She cleaned up the rest of her materials and set them on her desk, grabbing the book she was actually tasked with studying and taking it to the bathroom with her. She passed Elias' study where she could hear a hushed conversation and continued on to draw her bath. She sank in the hot water and melted, gazing up at the sky through the open windows. It was a soft orange and purple, though still bright. Evening was about to set in.

By the time she was finished reading her assignment the sun had just about set. She could smell the scent of a roast being served below and her stomach growled. As if on queue, a soft knock came at the door and Silky stepped inside with a towel and change of clothes for Chise. As silently as she entered, she slipped away and Chise quickly dried off and go dressed, feeling refreshed.

Dinner was quiet. Elias was late. Ruth stayed in his Grim form and sat at her feet. The couple played a game of sneaking peeks at each other, but neither said anything other than the occasional "can you pass the butter?" Or "would you like some more water?" And of course "thank you Silky."

As dinner ended, silence in the room was broken by Elias. "Your scolding will be different tonight, Chise." She blushed and lowered her head, wondering what exactly he meant.

"Yes, sir." She was ashamed. Once more she peeked a green eye up at him and saw his red orbs staring at her intently. "Are you mad?"

"I was angry, yes." He stood up and towered over her. Chise felt small next to Elias.

"I'm sorry." Her voice broke. Of the few times she's known him to be angry with her, this time seemed to really hit home. She almost died. He outstretched a gloved hand toward her.

"Come." She grasped it and followed him across the hallway into the living room. The fire was already lit, warming the house from the chill of the English night. On the coffee table Chise spied a familiar tome, but was perplexed when he led her passed the sofa, table and even his chair. He took her to an empty corner in the living room and rested his hand on the top of her back.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, confused albeit nervous. Her green eyes darted back and forth around the area they stood. Was she supposed to see something? What did he have planned? Of the few times he's ever scolded her she always sat on his lap while he lectured her. It was never pleasant but she didn't mind the closeness to him - even if he was delivering a strict reprimand at the time. The Magus placed both hands on the back of her shoulders now and turned her around.

 _Oh God_.

She understood.

 _No_.

"Chise, you are to stand here until I tell you you are finished, do you understand?"

 _This isn't happening_. She hid her face in her hands, his still on her back. She felt him bend down to her level and press the tip of his skull on her cheek. An Elias kiss.

"Hands down, eyes forward, back straight." She shakily looked up to him and he backed away from her, crossing his arms and taking in the sight of his little apprentice. He was livid earlier, but after having a long conversation with Ruth and having time to calm down and contemplate his actions, now he almost found this amusing. It would be if the issue at hand wasn't gravely serious.

The picture of her lifeless, pale and cold body replayed in his mind. When she didn't respond to his resuscitation attempts he almost lost it. He remembered that feeling, one only felt a handful of times before. His limbs had gone cold, his heart raced, time was flying by but standing still at the same time. Was this what fear was? The Magus stopped looking at her as his little puppy in the corner and looked at her again as his wife who did a very foolish thing against their agreed upon rules.

At some point during his pondering she turned back around and obediently kept her body as he instructed. Hating every second of this. She shivvered.

"Are you cold, Chise?" She shook her red head. "What's wrong?"

"This-" she turned to meet his gaze. "Elias, I'm not a five year old."

That caught him off guard and he chuckled. She narrowed her eyes. He finds this funny?

"Then why, Chise," her teacher spoke to her thoughtfully, "did you behave like one?" Her eyes grew big and she gasped audibly.

 _I did not-_

The Magus interrupted her thought by gently patting her on the head and guidng her view back to the corner. He stepped back again, paused, and took his place in his seat.

"You are to think about why you're standing there, Chise, while I freshen up on this spell you half hazardly decided to do against the promises you made to me. Our actions have consequences. It is clear my lectures to you have not sufficiently done any good. I would be a fool to continue them if they did not work. Think about your actions and their consequences. Then we will talk."

"Okay." The apprentice knew she was not in the position to protest or make demands .The pang of guilt welling up inside her told her he was not wrong. But still...

After what seemed like hours (but was actually about 2.5 minutes) Chise turned and tried talking her way out of this, and was again reminded of what she was tasked to do. With Ruth absent from her, she had no choice but to think about where she went wrong. The clock tic-toc'd, the fire crackled, the sound of a page turning every now and then disturbed the relative silence. She thought the day over once. Twice. And again. The house was warmed thoroughly from the fire but she felt cold. She felt alone, even though her entire family was with her. The longer she stood there in her guilt and shame the more she understood how foolish she truly was and how selfish she had been. She figured she must have scared Elias and hadn't even thought how her decisions affected everyone around her. She vowed to do better, to be better, and desperately wanted to tell her husband and teacher. But she was still there.

Chise noticed no pages had turned in quite a while.

 _Did he fall aslee-_

Elias scooped her up into his arms. Chise was beyond relieved and grabbed his shirt tightly, soaking up his warmth as she got as close to him as possible. He took his seat with her cuddled in his lap, placed a gloved hand on her cheek and she took it and hand on tight to that, too. He had missed her company as much as she missed his.

"I'm ready to talk, Elias." She broke the silence of their cuddles.

"Did you complete your task?" She nodded. "What did you learn today?"

She sighed and recalled her actions of the day. She noted how she was quick to assume, did not trust him as she thought she had, needed to work on her communication and admitted her magical blunder was irresponsible, to say the least. She promised to be better, apologized and asked for his forgiveness.

In return, Elias described to her the way he felt when he held her lifeless body and asked why that was, if it was fear. Chise confirmed the emotion.

"Do you still not fear many things?" He asked her, remembering a conversation they had in the past. "We've seen a lot, you've seen a lot since you have come here. Does none of it frighten you?"

Chise thought for a moment. "The only thing I'm afraid of is being without you, Elias. Even when were meters away from each other, I miss you."

A red orb look down at her, intrigued. "Ah, so you felt the same coldness I did, then?"

"Mmhmm"

"Let's hope this does not happen again Chise. It was dreadful to have to discipline you in that manner."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why the corner? Do you think of me as a child?"

Again, Elias chuckled. He patted her head. "You are a child."

"I am not."

"You are."

"I'm sixteen."

"See? A child." Elias wrapped his arms around her. "I remember seeing Angie being put in the corner more than once as a child, and again with her own daughter this continued. It is much preferable than how children used to be disciplined. Or how owners discipline their slaves." Huh?

"So you're saying it can be worse?" Briefly Chise recalled a moment in a foster home she'd been at once. A monster she'd seen caused her dinner plate to fly off the table and shatter. Her Foster mother caned her for it. Her hands, bottom, thighs and feet. Honestly she was partially expecting THAT kind of treatment when she decided to sell herself, she was told as much before signing the contract.

"I would never do anything to hurt you. I'd hoped you'd know this by now." She matter-of-factly told him about her previous treatment. He held her head to his chest. "I'm sorry you experienced that. Is that something that scared you?"

Hmm. "Kinda." Chise wanted to change the topic. This wasn't exactly the best cuddle talk. Of course neither was the other topic at hand - "Where did I mess up?"

"With the spell?"

"Yeah."

"All of it."

"Oh."

"I reviewed your notes. Since you didn't read the entire book and other supplemental studies, you only pulled a snippet of that field and tried putting it in to play. You had no understanding of that type of magic. Your control isn't there yet. So while you had the basics of the spell you had no foundation, and it almost took you from me." He tightened his grip on her.

"What happened? How did you find me?" Chise yawned and rubbed an eye. Her husband held on to her hand and lightly tapped the ring that adorned her ring finger.

"When you stopped breathing I knew something was wrong. It was just a matter of finding you."

"But how did we get back here? You were out...somewhere with other people. I was there, above you." Elias shook his head.

"You were still here, just split between two planes. Your body couldn't withstand the soul split and your mind had no comprehension of how to perform it properly. So you were essentially a locked between the two." Chise's brows raised. This was a lot more serious than she'd thought.

"I'm so sorry." She apologized again.

"I forgive you. It won't happen again?" The young mage shook her head. "Lesson learned?" She nodded. "Are you ready for bed?" She nodded again, climbing up his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. "We'll see to your test tomorrow, then." And with that, he picked her up and carried her to bed.


	2. Words Have No Wings Pt 1

"Please, Chise!" the young girl tugged on Chise's jacket sleeve tightly. The two were sitting at a table in the courtyard of their college, halfway through their lunch break. The girl, who sat next to Chise in their math class, was roughly Chise's age. She had wavy, shoulder length black hair, tanned olive skin and dark brown eyes that she used to plead with her newfound friend. Those puppy eyes.

 _Sigh_

Chise swallowed a bite of her sandwich Silky had made her that morning. Roast beef with tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and mayo between two thick slices of whole grain bread. She had been waiting to dig in since they left that morning, as she didn't have time to grab anything to eat before her and Elias flashed themselves to get to the college early. She was supposed to go to the cafeteria for breakfast but decided to sneak into her room to get in some studying since pre-finals were tomorrow. Elias groggily mumbled something about a staff meeting before huffing off to his own office to prepare. What it was about, he didn't care to tell her - and she didn't care to ask.

"Kara...I don't know..." She wiped her mouth and took a drink of her water. "Why don't we just study together instead?"

"That's boring!" Kara huffed, crossing her arms. "You get such good grades anyways, I'm sure you don't even need to study! Besides it's just one night, it's not like pre-finals will make or break you."

"They're 30% of our finals."

"Come on..." Kara whined and dug a spoonful of her pudding out to stuff in her mouth. "It'll be fun. Seniors NEVER invite our grades to their parties. We HAVE to go!"

"It's probably just because I'm _me._ " Chise theorized correctly. A night with the sleigh beggy mage for entertainment would be great. It would go down as the graduation party of the century, even if it was 'magic-free'…rules were meant to be broken.

"So? You're special!"

"I don't _want_ special treatment. I get away with hiding enough as it is. If I go they'll ask me to do all sorts of stuff and if I say no, everyone will hate me. And I can't exactly say yes..." she shrugged and took another bite. Elias wouldn't appreciate her expending all her magic for her peers' entertainment and she certainly didn't want to deal with all the consequences that came along with it. If something went wrong...

"I'll make sure they leave you alone, I swear! My sister is on the student council anyways, they'll listen to her if they won't listen to me. Please please please! I don't want to go alone." She pouted at the red headed mage who put her forehead in her hand.

"What if I promised to think about it?" Chise asked. Kara seemed pleased as she nodded.

"Okay, but you have to think about it okay? I'll come to your dorm after classes and I expect a yes!"

"I said I'll think about it." She finished her sandwich and smiled as she pulled out a bag of cookies from her lunch box. Silky always knew what to pack. "But yes, you can meet me at my dorm after class. Give me maybe a half hour to settle in and change though, please?"

"Think about what?" Chise looked up at Alice who took a seat in front of her.

"Alice! I thought you were out of town today?" The blonde smiled at her.

"I am, we just had to come back because I forgot something." She mumbled as she reached into her own bag and pulled out her lunch. "Master said to eat before we go out again, so I'm glad I found you…" Alice beamed at her mage friend with her eyes motioning towards the package of cookies sitting on the table in front of them. Chise laughed and handed her one. "Yes! Silky makes the best treats!"

Chise nodded in agreement and bit into her cookie, feeling a tug on her sleeve.

Kara's puppy eyes again.

"Lucky for you Silky always packs me extra." She handed her a cookie as well.

"Thank you, Chise," the girl gladly accepted the baked good and spoke with her mouth full at Alice. "What are you guys doing out of town anyways? You know pre-finals are tomorrow, right?"

Alice nodded, "It's just for today. We've been helping a couple up north and it just so happens what we've prepared for them is ready today and its shelf life is only 48 hours…unfortunately it can't wait." She shrugged. "We'll be back late but I'll have lots of time to study while we're out. He only needs my help here and there, anyways. What are you guys doing?"

Chise and Kara exchanged looks. Was she not invited to the party?

"What?" Alice's eyes went wide. "Oh no, don't tell me." She pointed her index finger at both of them. "You're going to that party, aren't you?!"

Chise laughed nervously, "Well….I haven't decided yet."

"Please don't." She said plainly, holding back upset in her voice.

"What, why!?" Kara questioned, clearly annoyed at Alice's meddling. "It's going to be fun, we never get invited to these kinds of things!"

"First, there's a reason for that. Second, those guys are dicks," she rolled her eyes. "Besides, we can't go even if we are invited. I _certainly_ can't. I don't think the college would appreciate you going either, Chise."

Chise's eyes darted back and forth trying to find something to say. _Peer pressure is a lot worse than I thought it would be._

"What did Elias say? He probably is going to want to go with you, right? You know professors can't attend this party, right?" Chise didn't have much of an answer for that either, though Alice could tell what was going on without her saying a word. She reached across the table and grabbed hold of Chise's hands. "Just be safe, okay?" She smiled warmly at her red headed friend.

Kara crossed her arms and scoffed, "she'll be fine if _I'm_ there with her." Alice ignored her.

"And have fun." She squeezed her hands and let them loose before continuing. "Are you going home tonight as well?" Chise shook her head.

"Probably not. I'll be easier if we both stay here tonight. Elias has a lot of work to do…and, well, I'm supposed to be studying, too…"

"Okay!" Alice clapped her hands and stood up, packing her half-eaten lunch back into its bag. "I will pick you up tomorrow morning at your dorm and we'll walk to class together." With that she took off and left the girls to themselves.

As the lunch period ended Chise and Kara parted ways as their schedules were different for the rest of the day. Chise had two more general education classes to get out of the way before her day was over. Like her morning classes, the teachers were replaced with student tutors to head up the reviews, since the staff meeting was an all-day event. Earlier in the year she would be been plagued with missing Elias but they both grew accustomed to being apart and tending to their own business during the day. She looked forward to spending the evening with him, though, one of the reasons she didn't want to go out tonight.

Then again, it wasn't every day she was invited to a party.

Okay she'd never been invited to a party that wasn't a birthday party or a church function. Deep down her heart fluttered with the thought of letting loose and being carefree for a night, even if that meant being tired for pre-exams. Kara was right, she had the material down fine. Almost all of it, save for Elias' private lessons with her which he thankfully had lessened since starting the semester. She still needed to study for that as well.

 _What do you think, Ruth?_ She asked him as she made her way to her dorm. He had been sitting in her shadow asleep for most of the day but was very aware of her moral dilemma.

 _You want to have fun._

 _I know._

 _But you need to study._

 _I do._

 _And you're afraid Elias will say no._

 _Or he'll say yes and want to come along._

 _If I'm there with you, maybe not._

 _I wanted to go by myself._

 _What?_ Ruth didn't like when Chise went off on her own, but he felt her reasons why, and although justified he couldn't help but feel a tad hurt. He pulled himself out of her shadow and into his human form when she closed the room to her dorm and found her roommate was still out.

Chise threw her bag down on her desk and threw her body down on her bed. Ruth sat at the edge and stared at her, feeling the butterflies in her stomach.

"You really want to go, don't you?" He asked her. She nodded. "What about Elias? Or the rules?" He was referring to the college's rules regarding student parties. They were fine, provided they were held off campus, did not interfere with normal college activities, did not involve college staff, did not serve alcohol or any other illegal substances, did not use unapproved magic, and were not upper/lower class mixed. To be found violating these rules, a student would have to go in front of the board for a student hearing and face whatever ruling they deemed necessary, including expulsion or even serving time in detention. She was next to certain none of that would ever happen, and if anything did happen she wouldn't have to face any board or deal with any issues as she wasn't a normal student and they'd asked her to be there.

But still.

"I think it'll be okay." Chise said. Ruth just stared at her. "What? It should be."

"What are you going to tell Elias?"

"I don't know. Maybe that I'm going out with Kara. It's the truth, anyways. I'm not going to lie to him, if that's what you are getting at. It's not like I need to sneak around him. "

"No, but omission is still lying." Chise narrowed her eyes at her familiar. "Hey, I'm not getting between you two again. My lips are sealed. But the second I sense you are in trouble I can't guarantee you won't see both of us rushing at you."

"He's busy tonight getting the tests ready for tomorrow. He already told me we were probably staying here tonight because he had to prepare."

A knock interrupted her thinking out loud.

" _Chise! Are you here?!"_ Kara yelled at her through the door. Ruth sighed and hopped up to open the door as Chise sat up on her bed. Kara and two other girls flew inside in a flurry and spoke over each other at Chise.

"You're coming right!?" Said Jenna, a short girl with tightly curled blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Kara said you were coming!" Maria, a brunette, green eyed girl exclaimed. Both were a year below Chise and Kara but were tied to Kara's shadow like familiars most of the time. It was rare she was seen without them outside of class.

"They never invite us we have to go!"

"It's going to be so fun!"

"Make sure you wear your swimsuit there's going to be a pool!"

"I have one you can borrow!"

Chise, overwhelmed at the amount of information being thrown at her, threw her hands up and waved them nervously at the girls.

"I - I haven't decided yet. Exactly...I don't know. Maybe?" The girls hushed, and she looked at Kara. "I haven't even changed out of my uniform yet, what happened to giving me some time?" Kara blushed.

"I'm sorry, they wanted to get together early so we can get ready together." Kara smiled. The girls broke out in conversation again and chatted among themselves about who was going, what they thought was going to happen, their crushes, etc. Ruth rolled his eyes, he didn't care for mindless girl chatter.

Chise so wanted this experience. She missed out on her childhood and she didn't want to miss out on her teen years either. Before she had sold herself, she didn't care...but after all this...she desperately wanted to live her life to the fullest. After they started this semester, her and Elias discussed her experiencing a teen life. Expressing her want to be normal, he assured her she wouldn't be missing out and he'd do everything in his power to give her what she wanted, provided she was safe. So why was this such a difficult decision? Any other teen wouldn't think twice. Then again, she wasn't just any other teen.

On the other hand, he never particularly cared about her going off with her school friends. He had grown from his first experience with jealousy and had since learned about a young girl's need to have her privacy and own life. He respected that, and she knew it. As long as she recited their rules with each other...which he still insisted she do each and every time. Elias _was_ a bit of a creature of habit.

"Okay." She raised her hand and they looked at her eagerly. "I'll come. But I need to get dressed and find Elias first."

"Yay!" Kara exclaimed, jumping onto Chise's bed and embracing her in a tight hug. "I'm so happy! This is going to be great. Come to my room when you're ready, okay?! We'll be there!" With that she and her posse exited the room just as quickly as they had rushed in and all was silent again. Ruth closed the door behind them and crossed his arms at Chise. She rolled her eyes and looked through her closet at the clothes she had stashed there. A handful of uniforms, a pair of leggings, a pair of jeans, a skirt, a couple pairs of shorts and a few tops. Nothing particularly exciting. She decided on a simple pair of dark colored jeans and a loose-fitting white top with a swoop neckline, lightly ruffled sleeves and cutout shoulders. Getting dressed, she straightened her bolo tie in the mirror and looked at herself.

"Do I look okay?" She asked her familiar as she did so. He still was looking at her with worry and a pang of disapproval.

"You always look nice." He finally spoke. She smiled at him. Her roommate interrupted them and huffed into the room, throwing her own bag down and unceremoniously plopping down on her own bed.

"Charles Elroy is a fucking dick." She mumbled into her bed. She turned to look at Chise who was lacing up her boots she changed into.

"Why?" Chise asked her. Charles was a student tutor from one of Lucy's classes but Chise hadn't had a chance to talk to him much

"You're going to that party, aren't you?" She ignored her question.

"Uhhh." She didn't quite know what to say. Was Lucy even invited?

Just then another knock came at the door.

"Chise?" Elias spoke from the other side.

"She's in here!" Lucy mumbled loudly again, staying still. Chise gave her a _don't say a word_ look as she jumped up to open the door. She also flashed the look to Ruth who had taken a spot on her chair at her desk.

Elias patiently was waiting outside the door in his usual form, with his cover over his face. He usually wore his glamor during classes, but it wore on him and towards the end of the day he went back to his usual. Chise wasn't sure if he'd even been in glamor at all today.

"Hi," she smiled nervously and leaned against the door frame, her right hand rubbing her left arm. She really couldn't keep secrets too well. Her husband leaned down and nuzzled her cheek.

"Where are you going?" He asked. Chise gulped and could hear Lucy cackle behind her. Elias looked over her shoulder at her roommate and looked back to Chise. "What's so funny?"

Chise stepped out of the doorway into the hallway and closed the door with a little force behind her. "Nothing," she said, frustrated, "just an inside joke."

"Ahh." He said, pulling her close to him. "Are you sure? Was she being mean, again? You seem upset." Chise pursed her lips and shook her head, looking away.

"No. Really, I'm just stressed about tests tomorrow."

"Why? You've studied enough for them. I have no doubt my apprentice will outdo everyone else."

"That isn't helping my stress levels, Elias!" She sighed, looking up at his covered skull. "I just don't like tests, my friends said I should relax a bit...so..." She trailed off, not sure how to finish her sentence. He let her go and watched her shift her weight.

"...So?" _What is she hiding?_

"So, Kara invited me to her dorm tonight with some of her friends for a little get together. I said I'd go, I hope that's okay..." She shrunk under his gaze slightly.

"Is that all?" Elias patted his wife's head. "Enjoy yourself." He spoke to her warmly, but she refused to draw comfort from his tone. This didn't feel right to her, but she was already in a hole. She decided to change the subject.

"What was the meeting about?"

"Eh-" He put his hands in his pockets and turned, looking to either side of the hallway. "I cannot say here." He spoke to her in a hushed tone. "Would you like to come back to my office with me?"

"Actually," Chise said, "I should be going. I told them I'd meet them soon."

Elias nodded. "Very well, then. When you're finished will you come see me?"

Chise smiled. Even though they were used to being separated he still longed to be together at the end of the day; her heart skipped a beat. "Of course." She held on to his arm for a moment before turning back to her door.

"Chise?" The little mage half rolled her eyes and turned back to recite her rules with a smile before they parted once more. She watched him make his way out of the hallway before she closed the door behind her to face Ruth and Lucy who heard everything through the paper-thin door and walls.

Lucy looked at her from her bed with a smirk. Ruth was expressionless.

"Seriously, you guys!?" Chise huffed, annoyed. "You're both ridiculous."

Lucy chuckled. "Well, have fun." She said, almost in a sarcastic tone, as Ruth morphed into his grim form and curled up on Chise's bed. "If the light's off when you get back don't bother coming in. You can go sleep with your bone-head of a husband." Chise stepped to Ruth and planted a kiss on his forehead, ignoring Lucy.

"I love you, Ruth." She patted his head and he resisted wagging his tail. She scratched his chin and he gave in and rolled on his back for her to rub his belly (with a bit of shame), which she did briefly before turning to leave. "Please don't say anything." She stopped and looked at him as he closed his eyes and ignored her. She internally groaned as she stepped out and made her way to Kara's room, which was a few halls over.

 _I'm going to sit with Elias tonight, just in case._ He finally spoke to her thoughts as she came up to Kara's door. She took a deep breath and knocked only to get pulled in nearly immediately by the group of girls.

A few hours and a makeover later they were ready to go. Chise was still in her outfit but Kara had found a bikini for her to wear underneath and they all pitched in on a makeover. Chise never really wore makeup, so this was a whole new experience to her. They refused to let her look in the mirror until they were finished and when they did she almost didn't recognize herself. She stared at the face that looked back at her in amazement. The power of makeup, indeed.

"Jenna you're sooooo good at contouring I can't even." Kara gasped at the final product. Chise turned her face to either side, appreciating the way her high cheek bones glowed, and her eyes popped, the green shade accentuated by the deep smoky brown eyeshadow that adorned her lids. Tasteful eyeliner gave her a sweetheart cat eye and her brows were what Maria called 'on fleek'. Her lips were a light pink and sparkled as she moved them. She was hit with a wave of confidence she hadn't felt before.

Before she knew it, they were all piling onto a bus headed for the party house. Clinton's house, to be exact. He was a talented wizard for his age (according to Elias), the president of the student council and came from an insanely wealthy family. When they came up to house Chise firmly believed they were at some sort of hotel or resort because it was much too big to be a house. A mansion even.

"Wow..." She couldn't believe her eyes. The party had already gotten underway and the property was pull of people. Much more than the graduating class of the college. She didn't recognize most of the faces but her group that tagged along with was quick to pull her inside. Greeted by opulence, she was afraid to even touch anything other than herself, for fear that she would break something.

"I heard this party is about a million times better than last year's already," Maria commented. "Last year they just went to the beach..." She was cut off by Clinton who greeted them as they stood at the door.

"Welcome, ladies." He grinned. He wasn't terribly tall, only a few inches taller than Chise. He had short brown hair and freckles, a typical young adult, wearing a simple tee shirt and cargo shorts. He grabbed Chise's hand and kissed it softly before she had time to react. She immediately pulled her hand back and blushed.

"I - I...Uh..." Kara stood in front of her.

"Clinton Davis this better not be the reason you invited us here," she spoke with venom. "Because if it is, I swear-"

"Hey, I'm just being polite," he broke a sweat and waved his hands defensively. "I'm glad you could come. Just..." He turned away. "Make yourselves at home. No pressure. The DJ is in the back, there's food and _drinks_ in the kitchen." He paused before turning to them over his shoulder, a shadow darkening his face. "What happens here stays here. Got it?" They all nodded. Satisfied, he walked and disappeared into the crowd in the hallway before them.

Following suit, the girls made their way to the crowd and were stopped by curious upperclassmen who took turns greeting them and chatting about anything and everything. They grabbed some drinks while catching up with some and meeting others for the first time.

"Is this spiked?" Kara asked someone at the bar where various drinks had been pre-poured and laid out for guests. Judging from his attire, Chise assumed him to be a servant, probably a butler or maybe a hired hand for this event. He seemed disinterested in the surroundings and shrugged when Kara asked him.

"You're at a bar." He said dryly. She watched as he poured from different bottles, mixed up a large glass and poured it into smaller servings. "What do you think?"

Without hesitation, Kara grabbed an armful of drinks and passed them out to their group. Chise took a cup nervously and sniffed it. It smelled sweet, like lemonade, and was decorated with a sprig of mint and a strawberry.

"Well," Jenna said, putting herself in the center of the group. She raised her glass. "To...uh...to us!" Kara and Maria raised theirs and Chise followed suit before the others drank theirs graciously.

"Ohhh it's so good!" Kara exclaimed, popping her strawberry into her mouth. "Lets get to where the real party is though." They walked back into the hall to make their way through the crowd of people towards the back. The further on they went, the thicker the crowd got and the louder the music grew. The girls trailed ahead of her and she brought up the rear, looking into her glass thoughtfully before deciding to take a sip.

 _Wow, it is good!_ She could tell the drink had some sort of alcohol in it, but it was hardly noticeable. It tasted much more like a strawberry lemonade and was fizzy to boot. It definitely quenched her thirst. Continuing through the massive estate, they'd stop here and there to greet someone or a group of people. Kara knew most of them since she had been at the college the longest. Each time they'd stop she'd introduce Chise. Sipping silently, she followed her friends and listened to the chatter around her.

 _"It's the sleigh beggy"_

 _"Who invited her?"_

 _"Who wouldn't invite her?"_

 _"Who the hell did her makeup? She never wears makeup."_

 _"Like you know her that well."_

 _"Where's the Thorn Mage? They're always together."_

 _"He's so cool."_

 _"I have him for my 4th block he's definitely a hard teacher!"_

 _"Could you imagine being his apprentice?"_

 _"I could! Have you seen him? He's definitely attractive."_

 _"Ugh, no he's not. He's creepy as hell."_

 _"Whatever, I think they're both creepy."_

 _"I can't believe that freak lets her do anything"_ Chise stopped her idle chit chat mid-sentence when she heard this particular whisper. She was used to whispers at her own expense, but this was an entirely new experience. Elias was used to comments like this, whether from fae or human, but Chise wasn't. Maybe her reserved personality kept her from hearing this kind of talk throughout the semester, maybe she ignored it, maybe Elias being _with_ her kept her calm, but this stopped her heart. She took a deep gulp of her drink before she realized she had drank it all trying to remain calm at these whispers that were anything but. All that was left was ice.

She stopped and turned to where she heard that word. _Freak_. She searched the faces around her and her heart started to race. Her friends stopped, noticing she was left behind.

"Chise, are you coming?" Chise could feel the blood rushing through her and her emerald green eyes seemed to glow as she brought her gaze to Kara. "Woa, hey...Chise?" Kara walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Chise took a deep breath. "Nothing."

"Hmm?" Kara grabbed her free hand. "Come on then, let's go. There's more drinks outside and Maria just saw Antony jump into the pool." Kara practically swooned dragging Chise with her. Thankfully the fresh air cooled her down and she tried to block out the rude comments. They grabbed more drinks and slid off their shoes to sit at the edge of the pool and tried to get the attention of the boys who were heavily invested in a game of water polo. However, once Chise sat down and sipped her drink quietly, attention was once again brought to her and they paused their game to say hello.

"Oh my god oh my god here he comes," Maria excitedly whisper-screamed. The girls broke out in a fit of giggles as Antony and his friends greeted their group. Chise remained silent until he swam over to her. He was a light skinned boy with a shaved head, pierced ears, a pierced nose and tattoos on his arms. His friends were pretty much the same. Chise noted he looked very different from the Antony she'd seen in class.

"And you, Ms. Mage," he winked at her and her stomach twisted. "How's it going?" He smiled at her. She investigated her drink and realized it was nearly gone again. _Ugh._

"I'm well, thank you. How are you?"

"Better now that you're here." His cheesy line made her cringe, but she held up her manners for politeness' sake. She smiled nervously back at him.

"That's nice." She said, faking flattery, albeit not very well.

"I can't wait for the show," He said, matter-of-factly.

"Show?" She was puzzled. "I didn't hea-"

"I already told Clinton she's not doing it." Kara shouted over to them, over the music.

"Aw come on," Antony looked genuinely upset. "It's JUST a game."

"What kind of game?" Chise finished off the last of her drink and nibbled on the strawberry.

"Target Practice," Antony laughed.

"What?" She almost choked. "Target practice on what?"

"Why do you think underclassmen are here tonight?" He grinned at her again. Her eyes grew wide. Kara used her foot to splash him.

"Stop scaring her you jerk!" He shielded himself from the splashing.

"If you're here you have to play," Antony shrugged "besides, Chise is a guest of honor. She isn't a target like you." He laughed and swam away.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Jenna stood up and shook the water off her feet. "I don't know about you guys, but this is messed up. I'm leaving." She turned to go but Maria grabbed her leg.

"It's FINE. It's just water balloons."

"Laced with magic!"

"No magic is being used this time, Jenna. So what if it was? It's fine!"

"So...no! I'm not doin' it." She shook free from her and walked off into the house.

Chise sat there and let the voices around her wash over her thoughts which were growing numb. She stared into her glass that was filled with ice which was slowly melting. Her face was hot, and she beat of the bass from the speakers on the other side of the pool synched with her heart rate...or was it the other way around?

"Water balloons sound fun," she said suddenly, interrupting the last two girl's conversation she hadn't been paying attention to.

"What-" Kara looked at her, "Really, Chise?" The red head nodded and smiled. "Awesome! I knew you'd let loose a little!" She stood up and ran off, returning a few minutes later.

"What was that about?" Maria asked her.

"I told them Chise is going to play! Clinton is getting stuff ready now."

The girls dried off their legs and decided to grab more drinks before joining other teens dancing while they waited. Chise's arms and legs felt unusually heavy, but the beat of the music was entrancing, and she found herself swaying along, sipping and enjoying the atmosphere.

 _So, this is a party._ She thought to herself, downing the rest of her third drink and shaking her hips awkwardly with her friends who were just as awkward but genuinely enjoying themselves. The thump thump thump of the bass vibrated through her body and the lights danced before her on the people who danced back. She was about to completely let loose when the DJ lowered the volume of the music and spoke loudly over everyone into the mic.

"Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, if you could please take a moment to pause and turn your attention to the DJ stand. Your host Mr. Clinton Davis would like a few words." Everyone calmed and waited. People inside poured outside and watched Clinton grab the mic, turning to his guests.

"I just want to say thank you to everyone who came out tonight." He smiled. "A big round of applause for seniors this year!" Everyone roared with applause, hoots, and yelps. When it quieted down he spoke again. "I hope I have served you all well as student president and I know we will never forget the memories we have all made together, and the memories we will make for the ages to come." More applause. "Now, I don't want to hold us up any more than I must, so I'll let us get back to the party! Please help yourself to all the food and drink you want, and for those participating in Target Practice, please meet us by the pool! Again, thank you, and have a wonderful evening!" More applause for Clinton as he handed the mic back and stepped down from the DJ stand.

Kara grabbed Chise's wrist and they all stumbled over to the pool where a group of underclassmen were being lined up at the edge. A line of seniors was gathered some 10-15 meters or so away next to a large basket of water balloons. Kara pulled Chise over to the upperclassman and left her there as she hopped off to her own line.

She waited there nervously and again stared into her glass, now full of mostly water and pieces of ice. It wasn't until Clinton walked over that the music volume turned significantly down, and he shouted the rules of the game.

It was simple. The underclassman was formed in groups of four and were to run back and forth along the edge of the pool, careful not to trip or fall in. The senior at the balloons was to throw a balloon at one of them and knock them into the water. They got 3 chances to do so, and if they couldn't do it they had to swap places with an underclassman. If you got hit and pushed into the pool...well, you lost and got wet. That was it. The balloons were quite large, so all that was required to win was a good strong throw. No magic. Simple. With Chise's arm the way it was…this should be easy.

Chise watched as they started the game. A group of seniors had all gone and all successfully dunked an underclassman. A new group came up, Kara and Maria's group, and the next round started. The DJ kept score and Clinton shouted encouragement from the side.

As they began the next round, the first senior to go up missed and traded places with another underclassman. Before the next senior stepped up, Clinton stopped him and motioned for Chise to go 'up to bat.'

"Our guest of honor!" He grinned at her as she stepped up anxiously. Every step was harder than the last.

"I...Uh...I dunno..." She mumbled as he grabbed her drink and set it on the table next to them. He handed her a balloon and all eyes were on her. Taking a deep breath, she threw the first balloon. It plopped a few feet away from her and she lost her balanced, almost falling had Clinton not steadied her. Laughter erupted behind her and for a moment that's all she could focus on. As if she were watching from afar, Clinton handed her another balloon and she took it, watching her classmates and friends run back and forth carefully.

 _"I didn't think she'd even come up here."_

 _"I didn't think she even knew how to play games."_

 _"She's drunk, look at her! It's like she's never been to a party before."_

 _"Probably not, does that freak she's with look like a party person?"_

 _"I still don't get how someone like that ended up with a monster."_

 _"I heard he bought her."_

 _"He kidnapped her."_

 _"Can you imagine what it must be like to mess with THAT THING?"_

 _"Ugh ewww."_

 _"It's actually really gross."_

 _"Disgusting."_

 _"Creepy."_

Chise's eyes grew wide and shone brightly among the flickering lights around her. She whipped her head around and found the source of the hateful conversation. A group of girls, seniors, who she'd only seen a few times in the halls. They were tall, curvy and matured young women dressed immaculately, and all wore the same double heart shaped charm on their shirt. She recognized the symbol as a senior sorority that was on campus, though she'd not had the interest in learning more about them and they had never even really sought her out. Now she knew why.

"Say it to my face." She said in a low growl, slowly stepped towards them, her legs now like lead. It took effort for her to move but she did so purely on the rage boiling inside her. The girls just looked at her, then looked at each other and broke into a fit of laughter.

"Say it to my face!" One of them mocked her and they all broke again. Tears welled up in her eyes and her chest tightened.

"The insults...about...me..." She breathed between her growled speech "I can...handle..." She lowered her head and tears streamed down, dropping onto the pavement where she stood. "You don't even know us." Chise's voice wavered. A dozen - no, two dozen or so balloons rose up behind her from out of the basket and a blue light emitted around her. The balloons began to change shape, from squishy balloons to the first thing she could think of...shards of ice.

"OOH, what are you going to do, ice us to death?" She glared at them through her vision which had been doubled and clouded from tears, but she still saw them just the same. "We can all do spells too, you know." They laughed and mocked her in unison.

"Hey, guys, chill." Clinton came up beside her. "Chise, maybe you sho-" She put up a hand and he flung backwards, slamming onto the cement. The group of girls and the people surrounding them in front of her gasped.

"Hey, someone stop her!"

"She not going to stop, someone do something!"

"I'm trying, something is blocking me!"

"I left my potion at home!"

"This was supposed to be a magic free party!"

"Get her!"

One by one graduates were all flung away from her as she stepped closer and closer to the group of girls who now were more than uncomfortable and had stopped running their mouths.

"Chise!" Kara shouted at her, afraid to get close. "Stop!" The girl didn't know what to do, she'd never seen her friend like this before. In a panic she ran into the crowd of partygoers to look for her sister. Chise didn't notice.

She ignored them and was only focused on her one want in this world right now - make them pay for what they've said. Nothing else mattered. The neighbors gave her everything she needed and left the rest who relied on them wanting. She absorbed magical energy from the others near her, pulling everything she could, empowering herself as much as possible. The ice rose above her higher and higher. She wanted to give them the frozen hearts they'd demonstrated they already had.

In a moment of darkness, she felt a familiar pair of gloved hands cover her face and pull her back. She gasped and held her breath, losing her balance and falling to the ground face first. Her face met wooden floor and she screamed, slamming her fists repeatedly onto the boards.

"No! No! No! No!" She sobbed, pressing her forehead down. The room spun under her and her chest tightened with every punch.

Elias kneeled next to her and put a hand on her back, softly rubbing back and forth. "Chise, you need to calm down." He spoke softly but with urgency. She clutched her chest.

"I can't!" She choked out her words. "Make it stop! Elias make it stop!" She begged him, unsure of what he could do but pleading for him to do _something_.

He sat down behind her and pulled her over, cradling her between his legs. Chise grabbed onto his shirt and clutched it tightly, gritting her teeth, crying and nearly hyperventilating at the same time.

"Let it go, Chise. You're soaking up too much magic - you _have to calm down_."

"I can't!" She repeated, breaking away from him and scrambling to her feet before stumbling and falling again. She tried once more and again fell. Climbing to her knees she looked around and found she was home, on the floor of the living room. She looked up and saw Silky in the doorway, who was unsure of what to do, but concerned nonetheless.

Elias moved in front of her and held her head in his hands, pulling her face up to look at him.

"How many drinks did you have, Chise?" He could smell the alcohol on her and had to calm his own pang of anger - anger at himself for allowing this to happen.

"I don't-" She closed her eyes, unable to look at him. "I don't know." She pushed his hands off her. "Take me back!" She coughed, stumbling to get up, her arms and head dipping and dropping as she tried picking herself up. She felt like she was trying to control a puppet and it sent her further into a panic that she had no control over. "Take me back!" She managed to pull herself up long enough to scramble out into the hallway. Everything around her was a blur and unrecognizable. She ran as fast as her heavy feet would carry her and leapt out the front door, her husband trailing behind her.

"Chise!"

Elias had reached out to grab her as she fled from him, but she was too fast, even in her drunken stupor. She jumped out of the front door and took off toward the forest which was swallowed in the darkness of the night. This was getting serious now. If she got lost in the forest in her state, there was no telling if she would even make it out alive.

"Chise! Stop!" Just as he hurried to her side she pushed him back like she had the others mere moments before. She disappeared into the dark but didn't make it far. The Magus heard a loud _crack_ followed by a dense _thud_ and jumped to his apprentice's side. She'd fallen head first into the dirt but wasn't finished yet.

"Take me back, please! Take. Me. Back!" A glow of blue formed under her slowly as she begged, and the neighbors answered her. Elias gripped her arm and flipped her over, whipping out his wand with his other hand and pressing the grip to her forehead. Thorns and magic swirled around them both.

"NO!" She sat up and yelled, swatting it away. She missed, and he held his position firm, standing tall above her.

 _"Nettles in the shadows,_

 _a wheel of hollies._

 _Ten-folds and twenty-folds..."_

The blue below his wife dissipated and she fell backwards, unconscious. He grabbed her just before she hit the dirt once more and put his hand on her chest for a few minutes, feeling her heartrate drop to normal levels and her breathing calm.

Elias stayed crouched over her for some time, watching her breathing carefully.

 _What happened?_ He wondered. Not even Ruth knew. When her familiar told him something was wrong, all he knew was their connection was being blocked. He spilled rather easily she had gone to a party, _the party_ , so he had an idea of what had happened, but the details were going to have to wait for her to wake up. Which should be any moment now, as he'd simply cast a minor knock out spell on her to get her to calm down. If she'd continued she would have surely lost control and in turn he wouldn't have been able to predict nor control her actions from that point forward.

When he flashed to her earlier the sight he found was troubling at best. A group of girls cowering in her path, magic swirling around her, her peers strewn about, terrified. He would have been impressed at the power she demonstrated had this been anyone else of equal experience. Instead he was shocked and angry. That much he knew. He questioned what set her off and theorized her consumption of alcohol probably had a lot to do with her losing control. This was not his Chise.

Her actions were not hers and neither was her face. He ran a thumb along her forehead and over her brow that was dewed over with sweat. Her makeup left a stain on his white glove. A black substance around her eyes was running and smudged, mixing with the dirt that now covered her face. She was looked different. The same, but different.

Picking her up, Elias carried her back into the house where he was greeted by Silky who wore a look of intense worry for the lady of the house. "Silver?" He looked over to her. "Please ready a bath, if you could." The Brownie nodded and hurried down the hall to the bathroom. Briefly he thought about Ruth who was probably sitting in his office worried. He'd find out what happened eventually. For now, he'd have to stay put until she was alert enough to allow him access to her.

The mage carried his wife into the bathroom where Silky was readying the tub. He laid her on the rug on the floor and carefully undressed her after removing his overcoat, jacket, dirtied gloves and rolling up his sleeves. He took off her boots and socks before going to pull off her tie and shirt when she took in a deep breath and he knew the spell had worn off.

Nearly instantly after she took in a breath she grabbed her stomach and rolled over to her side and vomited, emptying a good portion of the contents in her stomach onto Elias' lap.

"Ooooohhhhh," Chise groaned, and rolled on her back once more. "Elias?" He grabbed a towel and laid it down on the floor. Behind him he heard a shuffling and found Silky setting a large pile of freshly folded towels and wash cloths next to him. He grabbed a wash cloth off the top of the pile and turned back to his apprentice who was once again throwing up.

"Woa, hold on," he exclaimed, grabbing her shoulder and rolling her back to her side so she didn't choke. She groaned again and gasped for air as he went to wipe her mouth and face which were now covered in vomit. Before he could do so, she continued to empty out her stomach. He grew worried at this point as this was a surprising amount of liquid coming out of such a small person.

Chise shakenly got up on her hands and knees and purged the rest of the drink in her system. Elias handed her the rag in his hand and she took it, wiping her mouth and her hands and the tears staining her face.

"How much did you drink, Chise?" He motioned to the floor. "This is a lot." She shook her head.

"A-a couple, I - I...don't know."

"A couple." He repeated.

"I take it...this bath-is for me?"

"Mmh." He helped her stand, undress and she sank into the bath, dipping her head below the water for a second. She watched the water below her mix with the dirt and makeup that washed off and she felt a tad better. Still queasy, however. The room still spun around her, but she wasn't as bad as a few minutes ago. "That was stupid," he chided her.

She ignored his comment and tried focusing on her toes she rested on the edge of the tub. "Eliasss?"

"What?" Surprising himself he snapped at her as he cleaned up the rest of her vomit on the floor, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Is- Isn't th-there..." She slurred her words. "Isn't there something..." He turned his skull and stared at her, waiting on her to finish her extremely drawn out question. "To help?"

"No." The Magus stood up next to her and watched as she dropped her head back and groaned.

"I hate throwing up," she coughed and grabbed her stomach again, "Elias heeeeelllp." She pleaded and knew for a fact there was a medicine they had to help her.

"If your body is purging the alcohol it is because it cannot handle more. I can't force it to keep it in, it will poison you. It already has poisoned you. I'm sorry, Chise." He truly was. Sorry she had gotten so sick, sorry she was put in danger, sorry she lost control, sorry he let it all happen. He was also very upset.

"It's all gone, I - I swear." She started to cry. "Please..."

"I'm sorry, no." He wanted to stop it for her, but he couldn't until he was sure she had emptied her system. Besides…"These are the consequences for your actions, Chise."

She apologized through her tears which pulled on his heart strings, creating a tightness in his chest. He watched her little body writhe and beg him repeatedly, tears falling like rain. He couldn't watch her like this anymore, he wouldn't. She didn't deserve this. "Finish up here and meet me upstairs, I'll have something for you. I promise. Can you do that?" She nodded. "You're okay?" She nodded again. "If you need help call for me." She nodded, and he left to find her the right medicine.

Not too long later she carefully made her way out of the bathroom with Silky by her side. Elias had asked her to watch her and help her get dressed if she needed it, which she did. They stood by the stairs and Chise grew sick just looking at them.

"Thanks, Silky." She managed, feeling her body return to a somewhat normal state after the warmth of the bath subsided. Enough to see and think straight, anyways. "Elias?" She spoke up loudly and he appeared at the stairs, in a new pair of pants.

"Can you come up on your own?"

"Nuh uh," she shook her head of damp red hair. He strolled down to her and carefully lifted her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder as he carried her up to his room, her teddy still on his bed from her sleeping there the night prior. He half wanted to lay her in her own bed because he needed a portion of time to be by himself and gather his emotions and thoughts, but he knew if she needed him during the night it would be better - safer - for him to be next to her.

He didn't have much experience with alcohol. It didn't affect him, the taste wasn't great, and humans usually became a slobbering mess with it over anything. Some were quick to pick fights, others simply made fools of themselves. It was quite an annoying substance. It used to be a solvent in medicines and at some point, it used to be more consumed than water, but he had no use for it and internally kicked himself for not discussing this kind of thing with Chise. Then again, he didn't think he'd have to with the rules they set up. But he should have known.

He sat her on the bed and laid her head on her pillow. "Have you thrown up at all since I left?" She shook her head. "Good." Elias brought over a jar he'd set aside and spooned out a thick liquid as he sat next to her. He fed her three large spoonful's and she graciously accepted it, even though it was bitter and gritty. She could feel it coat her stomach and the cramping nearly ceased completely.

 _I made this_ She thought to herself, though she couldn't bring her mind to remembering exactly when or what she used to make it.

"Thank you," Chise spoke quietly, her eyelids hanging heavy, relief filling her body. She was incredibly tired but reached up to grab a hold of his shirt. "Elias, I…" He took her hand and put it back to her side, covered her up and put his skull next to her face, speaking to her ear gentle.

"Sleep, we'll talk in the morning. I expect a good explanation for all of this." Chise cringed slightly but nodded and gave in to her need to sleep, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep quickly.

He left her and headed downstairs to check on the mess in the bathroom which had already been cleaned and put to order. To thank her, Elias poured a cup of cream and left it on the mantle for Silky. As left to head back upstairs, a _tap tap tap_ interrupted him.

A messenger bird from the college appeared at the window. He sighed and opened it.

 _"Mr. Ainsworth. The college requests your immediate response."_ With a small, irritated growl he extended his hand and flicked the bird off the windowsill before closing it and chanting his spell to send him back to the college. All this traveling in one day was wearing on his nerves, preparations for these exams were becoming a nuisance. Not to mention his wife and apprentice was driving him slightly crazy. He very much wanted to turn in for the night but judging by what happened there was about to be a whirlwind of upset if he didn't respond promptly.

Chise awoke to an empty bed, an upset stomach and a pounding headache. She sat up carefully and looked around. Her teddy was coated in so many flowers, many had broken off and covered the bed around her. _What the..._

She looked at the side table and the medicine Elias had set there that night was gone. She looked at the door which was wide open, and the windows which thankfully still had the curtains drawn. The bits of sunlight flowing in were blinding enough.

 _So, this is a hangover._ She grimaced as she stepped out of bed and immediately felt her head throb. Rubbing it she made her way downstairs and found Elias sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper and sitting his breakfast tea. She appeared in the doorway and he glanced at her a brief second before going back to the paper.

"Good morning," he said.

"Morning," she replied, eyeing him suspiciously. Was he mad? Sad? Indifferent? Silky placed a plate of breakfast down for Chise. Pancakes, bacon and eggs. She was appreciative, but the smell made her stomach twist.

"Thank you, Silky. But I don't feel very good, I think I'll-"

"Sit down and eat," Elias spoke sharply and all but ordered her to. He didn't mean to sound so authoritative, but he was in no mood to go back and forth with her.

 _Yeah, he's mad_. "Okay..."

"I'm sorry," he sighed, setting the paper down. "I didn't mean to be so abrupt. Eating will make you feel better." He watched her take a seat and force a few bites before she dropped her silverware and her eyes went wide. "Are you hurt anywhere besides your stomach?"

"What time is it!?" She nearly jumped. _My tests!_ The Magus held up a hand.

"We have time. Eat." She looked out the window and saw the early morning fog still hugging the ground. The sun had barely broken over the horizon. Chise put another bite in her mouth and eyed him once more. "You're lucky they are letting you go back at all." He crossed his arms and she lowered her eyes in shame. "You're lucky I let you go back at all."

Chise didn't have any words for herself. She knew he knew. Instead of arguing, she listened to him and did her best to eat. Initially her stomach was a mess but the more she ate the better she felt. The kitchen was silent, save for the sounds of Silky making and packing their lunches and Elias turning the pages of the paper, which she was sure he probably wasn't even reading.

"My head hurts..." She finally broke the silence.

"I'll bet it does," he replied. "Anything else?"

"No…" Her attempt at gaining his pity was futile and she finished her breakfast to the best of her ability, in silence. When she finished, he put down the paper and opened his mouth and closed it quickly.

"...Go get dressed," he spoke to her, kinder this time. "We're going to have a little discussion before we leave." Chise nodded and left quickly. The Magus slid on his coat and waited patiently for her in the living room, head resting on his hand. Silky sat their lunches on the coffee table and quietly slid out of sight as Chise rounded the corner in a fresh uniform. She kept her head down and stood in the doorway. "Sit down." He motioned towards the sofa.

Keeping her head down she sat at the edge of the sofa furthest away from him.

"Chise?" Now he was worried. Maybe she had more than a simple hangover. She's never avoided him like this...well, not since..."Are you mad at me?" He rested his hands in his lap and watched her shake her head. His throat tightened, and he quietly asked, "are you afraid of me?" She shook her head again and he saw her back shake. "Are you crying?" She didn't respond. He never wanted to be the reason for her emotional pain. Standing up he hurried to her side and wrapped an arm around her. She let her head rest on his chest for a moment before stiffening, sitting up and looking at him.

Her eyes were red, and tears fell freely once more. She opened her mouth to say something but turned her head and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her jacket.

"Why are you crying?" A few possibilities came to mind and he genuinely wanted to know if he was the reason. Or maybe she was in too great of pain. He pondered what kind of solvent to give her. She rarely got even close to crying when he scolded her, and physical pain didn't necessarily reduce her to tears often. Maybe it was him…

"Because," she cleared her throat, "because you're mad at me. And I did something really stupid. I don't think I can go back there, Elias. Not after...not after..." He took her chin in his hand and lifted her to look at him, tilting his face down and focusing his orbs at her.

" _I am not mad at you_ ," the Magus wanted her to understand this completely.

"Don't lie," she took a deep breath, calming slightly. This was more than a relief.

"I don't lie," he promised. "Right now, I'm not mad at you." He put hand back on his lap.

"So, you were." Chise stated, rather than asked.

"I don't think I was angry at you, Chise." Elias spoke carefully, tapping the end of his skull. "I believe a source of my upset was your actions, not your person. I was also upset at myself for allowing this to happen." Chise shook her head.

"No, it's not your fault, Elias," she put a hand on his leg and looked up to him. "I wasn't completely honest."

"You weren't."

"And, I didn't follow through with my promises to you..."

"You didn't."

"I could have ruined everything for us..."

"Yes, you could have."

"So, it's my fault, and I accept the consequences, whatever they may be," she took a deep breath and shifted herself to face him better. "I made a mistake, and I'm sorry."

He thought on this for a moment and rested his hand on hers, nuzzling her softly. "I forgive you, Chise." Elias looked at her and ever so slightly cocked his head to the side. "What do you think the consequences are?"

Chise blushed and internally panicked just a bit, not expecting this question. "Uhh, well..." She looked to the corner he had placed in some time ago as punishment for doing something else equally as stupid. _Unlikely..._ "I...um...I assumed dealing with this," she moved her hands around, motioning to her body, "and whatever the college says...were the consequences..." She finished her sentence in a mumble, embarrassed. "I'm pretty sure I'll have to have a trial with the college, consi-"

"We don't need to worry about the college," he assured her, abruptly.

"We don't?" the little mage asked. "Why not?"

"I dealt with the issue last night."

"You did?"

"Mm hmm."

"Oh."

"What did they say, Chise?" She blinked and hated that he asked this. She wished she didn't remember, and she didn't dare claim she couldn't.

"Mean things," she replied, hoping he'd drop it.

"What, specifically?"

 _Noooo..._ "I don't want to say. Mean, rude, awful things. I don't know why but it really got to me. It was like…It was like the things they said started a fire inside me and no matter how much my brain told me to stop, to just leave, I couldn't. I kind of…felt like I was controlling myself from afar, but the angrier I got, the more I just did what felt right at the time. It's…hard to explain."

"You couldn't control yourself?"

Chise shook her head.

"Do you know why?"

"No," she replied. "I guess...I guess it has something to do with the drinks?"

Her husband nodded. "It's my fault for not telling you beforehand. I honestly didn't think I'd ever have to bring it up and I now know I was foolish to think that way." Chise dropped her head again in shame. "You wouldn't have known, Chise, it's not your fault. Your body is still very sensitive, and you cannot handle the same types of activities as your peers, like consuming alcohol. Even a small amount should have made you very sick. I'm surprised you actually were able to stomach as much as you did and hold yourself for as long as you did."

"I didn't think it was a big deal," the red head admitted. "The drinks didn't even seem to smell or taste strong at all I thought...I thought it would be okay, but I got carried away. And when they said those things about us I...I..."

"So, they were talking about us?"

"Yeah..." _Cat's out of the bag now_.

"I see," he said. "So, Renfred was right."

"Huh? They were back?" Elias nodded at her question and patted his apprentice on the top of her head.

"Indeed. I guess they broke things up shortly after I retrieved you and began questioning students. You taught me a good lesson about human teens last night, Chise. Thank you."

"What?" She reached up and smoothed down the hair he tussled slightly. "What do you mean? What did he say?"

He thought about answering her but chose to ignore her questions. "Did you think you could get off so easy from this?"

"Uh…Well…" Elias stood up and pulled her to him, resting his hand on her back. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him.

"This is what a normal teen experience is, then, Chise. How does it feel?" He looked down at her.

"Hmm…" She squeezed him tighter.

"Hmm?"

"I'd like to try it again."

"Oh, really?" This was surprising. She let go and stepped back to look at the shock in his eyes and giggled. He was relieved to see her so relaxed again.

"Next time will be better."

"You think there'll be a next time?" This time he got to see the shock in her eyes, quickly followed by shame. That didn't come out right… "Hey, hey, now. I jest." Bending down, he picked up the lunches and handed them to her. "I won't stop you from experiencing your adolescence." He paused, and she sighed a sigh of relief. "But…" He continued, pulling her back to him as he readied his spell to put them back at the college. "I won't ever allow this to happen again, and it's going to be a long while before you can 'hang out' with your peers again. I think that much is fair, don't you?" He bent down and nuzzled her. In turn, she kissed the end of his skull.

"I think so," she said. "Fair enough."

"Ready to go?" Elias asked her. She nodded, and they were off.


	3. Words Have No Wings Pt 2

The college was quiet in the early morning, save for the sound of birds chirping cheerfully, unaware of the storm brewing inside the little redheaded mageling making her way to her first class. Chise had decided to get to the room she was due for her pre-exams through the back entrance in an attempt to avoid as many people as possible. Elias had told her she needn't worry about the college after what happened last night...but she wasn't too sure what that meant. All she knew was she didn't have to go before the board in a trial, but what exactly had Elias done that night? Surely the higher ups wouldn't have just dropped this issue. Did he...no, he wouldn't have removed their memories, that would have been too cumbersome and difficult. What if...no, he was beyond bribing them, even with promise to handle tasks for the college. Right? A plethora of possibilities came to her mind and she internally kicked herself for not asking exactly what he meant. She hated to think of him signing up to do college bidding as payment for her wrongdoings.

So far, she'd been able to avoid eye contact with anyone by pulling her hood up and keeping her head down in its shade. Not many were out and about anyways. The seniors had already done their finals and were officially finished and preparing for the graduation ceremony, so that was a large bit who were gone. Everyone else was quietly reviewing material in a last-ditch effort to cram before they met pen to paper. Or in some classes...in person tests. The thought of that made her shudder. The mage craft class was one of those. She didn't particularly care to perform in front of everyone, but she knew Elias would have her test with her fellow peers - even if she was just a guest in the class. She dipped into the back of the building that held her class and turned to close the door behind her gently, so as not to bring attention to herself.

"Chise!" Chise jumped at the sudden calling of her name and jerked her head towards where it came from. Alice was standing at the end of the hall with a look of concern on her face. She lightly jogged over to her sleigh beggy friend and embraced her tightly, holding her head firmly to her chest and resting her cheek on her head.

"A-Alice?" Chise hugged her back and allowed the hug to last a few more moments before it grew uncomfortable and she shifted back. Alice noticed she may have been a bit overbearing and blushed as she pulled back and looked her friend over.

They'd become close since starting the semester as classmates, usually spending lunch together, studying together, just doing nothing together. They probably would refer to each other as best friend at this point but there was still a bit of distance that separated them. Though what it was Chise couldn't put her finger on it, even if she had been wishing Alice had been there for the party...maybe none of that would have happened. She had a knack for getting people to be polite around her, or at least within earshot. Chise wondered if that was why she hadn't usually heard people's rude whispers about her and Elias when out and about in the college.

"Are you okay?" The blonde looked her friend over.

Of course she knows...I almost forgot...

"I am." Chise grabbed her arm and cast her view aside, clearly embarrassed. "I'm sorry about this morning, I forgot all about you meeting me to walk to class...I didn't stay here last night, anyways..."

"Do...you want to talk about it?"

Chise bit her bottom lip. "How much do you know?"

"Well, I've heard everyone's side but yours, which is the side that matters most, really," Alice never considered herself the best at this kind of thing but wanted to be there for Chise. She also truly wanted to know what happened in her own words. "Also, remember what I told you about drugs?" She narrowed her eyes at Chise. "The same goes for sauce."

"Eh...sauce?"

Alice flicked Chise's forehead. "Alcohol. Honestly, Chise! I leave you for one night and you go doing all this stuff. Don't be dumb!"

"I didn't think...I mean, everyone else was..."

"No excuses. That stuff is bad for kids, and now we know it's worse for you. Just stay away, okay?" Alice rolled her eyes. "Besides, remember what I got Master for Christmas? I already have someone who drinks sometimes, and he gets sad, I'd prefer not to have to babysit an angry drunk too." She mumbled the last part and Chise didn't quite understand but Alice continued. "Enough of a lecture from me. Go on, tell me what happened." Alice pushed away the nagging thought that this never would have happened had she been there. She could have helped Chise enough to keep it safe and fun...but this...

Chise obliged and spilled everything to her as she stood with her eyes wide open in disbelief. She recalled very vividly the words spoken by the girls in the sorority...they'd been running through her head all morning.

"And so, I'm here now and I don't exactly know how Elias dealt with them last night, but I'm terrified of what is going to happen. I just now started making..." She trailed off as she thought about Kara and her two friends. Were they her friends? They did enough together as well, though Kara and Alice never particularly got along as friends and wouldn't have hung out otherwise. Now Chise wasn't sure if they were here friends and if they were...were they still her friends?

Chise was brought out of her thoughts as she realized anger was washing over Alice's face, while fear washed over hers. Was Alice mad at her too? She started an apology and Alice shut her down immediately.

"Don't even, Chise. This is beyond okay. I knew they had said some pretty insulting things, but this is beyond fucked up." Alice started pacing back and forth in the dimly lit hallway. "Those bitches. They're lucky they're gone. Who do they think they are..." She mumbled to herself, fuming. She was used to people saying rude things about her, and thankfully they didn't dare anymore. But Chise? No, Chise didn't deserve it. Not in the slightest.

"Alice? Um..." Chise broke her out of her rage filled trance. "What exactly did Elias do last night?"

"Huh?" She asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"He said he dealt with the college and I wouldn't have to worry about them, but I don't know what he did, er - What I mean is, I didn't ask for specifics. Do you know? Did Mr. Renfred say anything?"

"Oh...I, uh..."

"Please tell me what you know, Alice, it's important." Chise could tell she was debating whether to tell her or at least how much to tell her.

"Look, he didn't do anything. And I wasn't supposed to be there, got it? So, you didn't hear this from me. All they did was talk, for a really, really long time..." She lowered her voice, "at least until 3 or 4 this morning. I had to leave because I needed to get some sleep."

"You were eavesdropping, then?" Chise whispered. Alice answered with a nod.

"I heard a lot, probably much more than I should have." The blonde put her hand on Chise's shoulder. "For what it's worth, this growing up shit isn't easy and I'm still struggling with it."

"Oh?"

"We are in the same boat, remember?" She feigned a smile, trying to lift Chise's mood before having to face the aftermath of a hell of a night. Chise politely smiled back but still had tons of questions. "It's not too bad, is it?" Alice asked.

"Is what?"

"Whatever...um..." Alice blushed, unsure of how to pose this question. "Did you get in trouble with Elias at all? I mean, he was pissed last night."

"He - what? He was?"

Alice nodded and rubbed the back of her head. Maybe she spoke too much. "There was a lot of...eh, yelling."

"Elias?!" Chise spoke much louder than she intended to. Alice put a finger to her mouth shushing her and looking behind them down the hall which was still empty.

"Yes, him, Master, Mr. Stroud, Mr. Innis, and some other big wigs...it was a huge thing."

Silence fell on them as this information sunk into Chise. Yell? Elias doesn't yell. She now more than ever wanted to know word for word what was said.

"So? You're not in too much trouble, right?"

"Uh..." Chise blushed. That obviously was a topic last night. "Not really. He was upset but not like...that..."

"Weird..." the blonde rested her hand in her chin, "last night he said -"

DING

They were interrupted by the bell.

"Shit, let's go!" Alice grabbed Chise's arm and pulled her along quickly as they made their way to the main classes. The halls were nearly empty as the students had all already taken their seats.

Great, last night and now I'm going to have a tardy. In comparison they barely measure up but...I just want to go home.

Chise found her first class and quietly slipped inside, hoping to be unseen. Unfortunately, all eyes were on her. Fortunately, it only lasts a moment before another student walked in late behind her. She kept her gaze down and hurriedly shuffled to her seat.

The professor tsk-tsk'd playfully as they took their seats. As he spoke on about the test, Chise let her mind and eyes wander around the room. She didn't recognize any faces from last night, from what she remembered, that is. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Then again, word travels. Much faster in the world of wizards, sorcerers, wizards, and mages, even.

She was brought out of her thoughts as the written test was passed to her. She pulled a copy for herself and passed it on. So far, so good.

When the bell indicating the end of class rang Chise sat back and wiped the sweat from her brow. That was a lot harder than she anticipated but she managed to push through just in time. Her unfinished conversation with Alice weighing heavily on her mind caused her to lose focus more than once. She only hoped her next exams would fair better or at least, not any worse.

She noted the air in the room was weird. As they filed out of the room and other students broke into chatter, Chise couldn't help but see the distance they kept with her. It wasn't until she got out into the hallway she noticed nobody looking at her, in fact they were going out of their way to not look at her. This wasn't normal.

Word must have spread.

Her face went red as she trailed down the hall, her peers avoiding her, moving out of her way. Some almost...jumping? Did that group just jump out of my way?

She saw Kara turn the corner up ahead and walk her direction. Kara looked up at her, pursed her lips, and looked passed her, intending to keep walking.

"Kara...?" Chise stopped and watched her step to the other side of the hallway and continued her path. Defeated, the mageling slowly kept going to her next class when something made her turn around and hastily walk behind Kara, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Kara, look, I-"

The young girl stopped and turned, looking up at Chise with her big brown eyes. She whispered to her, "I'm sorry, Chise. It's nothing personal," before raising her voice, "Don't touch me!" She jumped away from Chise who stood there, mouth agape, hand still up where it was a moment ago.

"Wh - what?"

"You heard me. Leave me alone!" The students in the hall stopped and stared at both of them.

"I-" Chise choked as her throat went tight. Not knowing what else to say, she slid her hood up and turned quickly, hurrying to her next class. Elias' class.

She felt a little better to see Alice waiting for her outside the room. Her classmates filed in, some noticeably giving her the cold shoulder...others acknowledged her with a warm smile or a nod as they passed her. That was weird.

As the semester had gone on, about half of the students who started had left, so the class was relatively small compared to her others. Surprisingly enough, the good portion that stayed had a good talent in mage craft. Though she wasn't in the class, it was her favorite. She enjoyed helping the students there, seeing Elias lead a class, another side of him she hadn't seen before, and she enjoyed spending time not only with Elias but Alice as well. Class is for studying, not socializing. She recalled a scold from Elias from earlier on when he'd caught them passing notes and it would have made her giggle had she not been in a sour and somber mood. Some days she definitely did more socializing than studying. All part of her 'experience'.

Today she wished she could neither study nor socialize.

"We need to talk," Alice said to her as she approached. Chise leaned against the wall and pulled her jacked tight to herself, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes, trying to keep herself together. This day was exhausting, and it was just getting started. Her nagging headache didn't help either.

"I know," she finally said.

"I don't think you do," Alice spoke with worry in her voice.

"I do...Alice, everyone hates me. There's no denying that." Chise answered her softly as the last students hurried past them and into the room.

Alice shook her head. "No, Chise, you don't get it. The people who know, its most of our year, most who were at the party, yes. Not everyone, but a lot...and word is spreading. And I don't think I should even tell you this but you're going to find out and-" She cut herself off as she noticed she was starting to ramble. "They don't hate you..." Chise saw something in her eyes, something that made her feel uneasy. "They're afraid of you."

These words hit Chise in the chest like a sledge hammer. Almost on cue, the bell rang, and the girls stared at each other in the silence that fell throughout the empty hall. Chise let her friend's last words replay through her head - They're afraid of you. They're afraid of you. They're afraid of you.

They're afraid of me.

Me. Chise. I am the feared one.

"They're afraid of...me?" She whispered, her voice trembling only slightly. In the back of her mind this was a possibility, but she never imagined it would come to fruition. She'd gone through the ringer back in Japan. She'd be made fun of, people would call her weird, a freak, bullies would chase her, mock her, make her life a living hell. But nobody - nobody ever feared her.

Alice looked sympathetically at her friend and her heart broke. She immediately regretted telling Chise what was going on and wished she could take it back. Or at least have waited until after pre-exams. She opened her mouth to try and comfort Chise when the door to the classroom creaked open.

Elias, in his professor form, stepped out from the class, and held the door open, motioning the girls inside. "I'm glad you both decided to show up today. Miss Swayne," He acknowledged Alice and she hesitantly broke away from Chise to enter the room.

Chise's bright green eyes fell on his and he continued to stand there holding the door open. "Miss Hatori?" He asked for her attention.

Always so formal here. He momentarily brought her back to reality and she reluctantly entered the classroom, Elias following behind her.

She took her seat next to Alice as he started to address the class.

"I'm sure your exams today have been similar - mostly written or oral tests. As we've discussed, and you've learned these past few months, this practice is truly unique to each individual. It cannot, and it should not, be standardized. It also is not something that can simply be put to paper and judged."

"However," the Magus continued, "due to certain requirements set forth by the college, I am obligated to have written evidence of your developed skills for your records. That is why the first part of this exam will be written and timed. Once I give the go ahead, you'll have 10 minutes for the prompt." Groans echoed through the room and he raised his hand. "Afterward, you'll demonstrate your written work to the class. You'll understand more once you see your prompts. It's also worth mentioning, the answers of this test today will dictate the questions on your final exams." With that he distributed the papers.

Chise looked down at her single paged test as it was gently placed in front of her by a hand swimming in a mage's cloak that was three times too big. She never understood why he continued to wear this female body during classes. Everyone knew what he looked like, and she knew it was somewhat of an annoyance to wear all the time, but he insisted for the most part. She didn't particularly care what form he took, from the shadows to the serpent-like beast she's only seen a couple of times, but it just seemed like swimming around in clothing all day would not be worth the effort. Couldn't he just make himself bigger to fit?

She was lost in thought again and tried focusing on her test. Looking up, Elias had already taken his seat and was resting with his hand on his chin, scanning the room and watching the students who were furiously writing like their lives depended on it. He looked more like a bored teenager than a teacher, and Chise could tell he, too, was lost in thought.

He must have started the timer already. How did I not hear it?

His eyes drifted to meet hers and set on her for an unbearably long time - unblinking, expressionless. This unnerved her slightly and she succumbed to the urge of breaking eye contact (which had felt like hours but was only a few seconds) and glancing at the clock on the wall.

Oh no, how long as it been? The second hand moved rhythmically but she didn't know when he'd said 'go'. Class started on the hour, and it was already 10 after...She glanced around and saw everyone else was about half the page down the prompt, including Alice, and a mini-panic set in as she had nothing yet. She hadn't even read the paper. Why was this so hard?

Summarize the most important lesson you have learned in this class and describe how you would represent this visually with magic.

What? This prompt doesn't make any sense. She was expecting something similar to her all the other tests she'd taken at this college, even in this class, but this question was so vague. How did he expect them to answer this in only 10 minutes? Maybe she was thinking too deep into this?

Her mind drew blanks. For the first time since starting here, her mind was void. She always had an answer when it came to mage craft. It was becoming her essence. She'd always been bad at studying but since learning magic, certain things became easier for her the more she continued. She found herself rambling on occasion, often being too quick to offer someone her services and knowledge without first working out an agreement. Communication still wasn't her strong point, but she found this probably was the root of her inner troubles. She still wasn't great at it.

Maybe that could be the answer for this? But how would I represent this? Her stomach knotted, and her head pulsed in pain from her headache which was still dragging her down. And demonstrate...this must be what he meant. I'm going to have to demonstrate my representation. Somehow.

She put pencil to paper and began writing out her first paragraph. Quickly she jotted down the ideas as they hit her as she knew she was now in a race against the clock. She didn't get to far, however, as she started on her second paragraph a loud clap resonated through the room, signaling time was up. Chise turned to Alice who was sighing in relief as she put her pencil down and looked to her mage friend.

"You didn't finish?" Alice whispered, noticing Chise had only scribbled a few sentences. She shook her head. Elias called for the tests to be passed down and he collected them before announcing he would be calling each student up as he drew their test to grade as they demonstrated their representation. Having no other choice Chise slid her paper on the bottom of the pile and handed it to her husband who took no time getting started. Class was only so long, after all.

Chise felt incredibly drained at this point. Drained from last night, drained from the reactions of her classmates, drained from the tests, drained from this moment...Saying this sucked would be an understatement. She rubbed her tired eyes and massaged her temples as she watched student after student be called upon.

She realized they had taken this pre-exam prompt quite literally, demonstrating tasks they'd been taught throughout the semester. As Elias had pointed out, using magic wouldn't necessarily be standardized and each student had their own skill level and understanding, she saw this clearly as one would show how they could reshape a simple crystal, and another would show how they could create light in their hands.

Oh no. Not only did she not finish the prompt, she misinterpreted it.

She kept one eye on the clock and another on the papers Elias was pulling from. She couldn't see many details, but she could see how much was written on each page...the empty one he'd come to would be hers and not only would she embarrass herself, she'd probably make him disappointed in her. So, she went over different scenarios in her head on how to demonstrate this point, if she didn't have a written portion at least she could excel with a presentation, regardless of if her answer wasn't like her classmates'.

Fortunately, this wasn't necessary as the bell rang before they were finished. Alice, Chise, and a few others still hadn't gone yet and Chise felt a wave of relief wash over. Elias announced they'd finish the rest tomorrow and the class dispersed out to the hall. Alice stood behind as students passed by and waited for Chise.

"I'll bet you're glad he started from the bottom of the pile..." She said to her quietly. "Don't worry, so am I. I hate presenting." Chise opened her mouth to reply when she felt a familiar presence behind her.

"Chise?" She turned to see her husband back in his familiar form. Alice patted her friend on the back.

"Hey, I'll meet you in the cafeteria, okay?" Chise nodded and Alice left, leaving the two on their own in the empty classroom.

"Elias, I can explain..." The mageling spotted her form in his hands but missed the look of concern in his eyes.

"No need," Elias opened his jaw and reached out to caress the back of her head. "How's the headache? Are you still in pain?"

"Actually," Chise paused and took a deep breath. "It does still hurt, and I'm feeling really tired."

"Are you sleepy or something more?"

"I think something more. It's hard to explain. I - I feel like I am releasing a lot of energy for just simply thinking."

"Hmmm," Elias leaned closer to her and scanned her face for any signs of magical exhaustion. "You did use a significant amount of magic last night. I am surprised you were able to wake up this morning. You must have still been able to control most of your usage despite being under the influence. I don't want to admit it but it's impressive, Chise. Fortunately, I think you'll be okay for now. As much as I want to send you back to your room to rest I don't have much of an option other than to send you back to the rest of your classes. That being said, if you feel any worse, you are to tell me immediately, understood?"

Chise nodded.

"You'll probably want to go see Ruth soon as well. I'd feel more comfortable if he were with you for the rest of the day."

"Elias?"

"Hmm?"

"What about...um..."

"Ah, your exam. No worries, little pup. I expected something of this nature." He held up the paper. "While it isn't finished, I wanted to commend you for understanding the question and providing a thoughtful answer. I may not have been as direct as to what kind of responses I was looking for. I'll have to remember this when I write the final exams."

So, she didn't misinterpret it. That was even more of a relief.

"Oh, and while I can accept this paper I can't allow you to skip on the second portion. I'll need you to demonstrate along with the rest of the class. Can you do that?"

"Yeah." Chise grabbed her bag and stepped away, desperately wanting to say more, wanting to ask more, ignore the rest of the day and escape somewhere with her husband. Maybe to their bed to sleep for a good day or two. Or three. But she took her things and said goodbye as she left for her dorm where Ruth was waiting. He'd been quiet this morning and she wondered if he was mad at her.

The night before...

Alice crept in the stairwell with a knot in her stomach. She and her Master had just returned from the party, which had already been broken up for the most part, where they assessed the situation and took statements from witnesses. She felt like she was acting as an assistant for a detective rather than a body guard for a sorcerer, but this was, admittedly, one of her many roles. Still, it felt wrong treating her friend as a suspect or a criminal than someone who was probably pushed over the edge.

As they returned to the college, Mikhail asked her to leave the statements on his desk and to retire to her room when they came upon Elias who was quickly walking towards the administration hall. The blonde still felt uneasy in his presence, and even more so seeing him walk with haste, almost brooding, past them. She still remembered the day she'd seen him transform. How huge he grew, the way his body stretched and snapped into place, the fury that she witnessed as he tore a chimera to shreds without a second thought. She'd never seen anything like it, not in books, not in her deepest and darkest nightmares. It truly was a frightening sight that still hung in the back of her head whenever she saw him, though she'd never tell anyone.

Mikhail hurried to keep up with him, needing to break into a jog as he left his assistant behind. Alice didn't like it. She hurried to return the forms to his office and found herself sneaking behind the meeting room in the stairwell below a vent connecting her to them. If anything happened...she mentally reviewed all supplies she was armed with and listened with her body tense, ready to jump into action at a split second. She didn't care who was in that room or what they could do. She was her Master's bodyguard and she didn't want to fail him once again.

Luckily, she didn't think she'd missed too much, voices were still quiet, and she strained to hear what was being said by who.

"...only time will tell..."

"Had we sent someone...wouldn't have...like before"

"But...impossible...after the fact..."

"Charms, guards...people...death..."

"That's too...We don't...because..."

"Chise isn't your average..."

"...sheep in wolf's..."

"NO!"

Alice heard Elias clear as day and heard a loud thud. Voices were rising, she leaned in closer to the vent quietly so as to not reveal herself.

"Don't forget we were invited here. You pursued us for your experiments."

"Don't forget she was first your experiment." Mikhail retorted.

"You have no point."

"No, I do have a point. I told you you'd ruin her, didn't I? I told you all. Nothing good can come from a monster raising up a sleigh beggy child. And look what you've done."

"I have already told you I will take care of this. She is still learning, and I have a pla-"

"What's your plan, to get us all killed?!" Someone Alice didn't recognize. There was more shuffling, a thump...

"Not at all but it can be arranged!" Alice's heart skipped a beat. Is this it? Is this where it all goes down?

"STOP!" Another voice, was it Mr. Stroud?

"We will be leaving, then. So far your experiments have proven useless and this is too much for her." Loud footsteps coming towards the door exiting at the stairwell. Alice almost ran when someone else interjected.

"No! Wait-" More footsteps, shuffling, low mumbled words she couldn't make out.

"Ridiculous! Let them leave. That child is dangerous, I told you all before!" Another unknown voice...how many people were in there?

"What ARE you teaching her, anyways?! How do we know it was even the child, what if it was-"

"Enough!"

"She's not dangerous!"

"She is!"

"Why are they even here?"

"We have no choice, this directly involves our current and future funding. They have to be here."

"The insurance alone is set to-"

"Shut. Up."

"This is normal for our stu-"

"It's not and you know it."

"I had no control over this evening!" Alice heard Elias speak over the rest, quite loudly. Nearly shouting, even. His voice was so level, but she could hear...was that anger? Maybe from being around him more often than others she could sense the nuances in his tone a little better, but only Chise could say for certain if he were angry, or hurt, or sad...or enraged. "She lied to me and snuck away on her own. What was I to do?! First you people tell me I am overbearing, now you want me to all but attach myself to her 24/7. As much as I wish I could sometimes, I cannot control her."

"You're going to ha-"

"Someone who knows what they are doing would find the right balance. But you don't, you can't, and you never will." Mikhail spoke harshly, interrupting another voice.

"Chise is a good student, is she not? Has she caused any problems for anyone here yet?" Elias paused, maybe waiting for an answer, maybe thinking about what he was going to say yet. Alice couldn't tell. "You speak a lot about knowing what you're doing when your own apprentice has fallen off her path more times I care to bring up here." He continued, his comment this time directed towards her Master.

"WHY YOU-" Alice was again alerted and brought her hands to her solvents, ready to go. She heard a great deal of shuffling, and a loud bang against the wall next to the vent. She held her breath as she listened to her Master speak through gritted teeth. "Bring her into this again and you'll regret it. Don't fucking test me."

"Strike a nerve?" Elias was almost edging him on, was that...humor in his voice? Or curiosity? Did he enjoy setting him off? Alice could feel her heart stop. Her Master was talented in sorcery yes, but he could never win in a battle against Ainsworth...against that creature of shadows. "What would you have me do? I will deal with the insubordination on my end. But, again, what else can I do? We will leave if it is too much for this college to take on. I have no problem returning to our own research."

There was a pause before her Master spoke again. "No. No." She heard a sigh. "This is what's best for her. As hard as that is to lay on the table, it is." Alice heard them move away from the wall, hushed mumbling again filled the room. She quietly wondered how long she had been there as she stifled a yawn.

"Tell me. With the school here and all of the children you board..." Alice finally heard Elias speak up. "Chise has rarely gone against my instruction in this manner. In the past I have dealt with this with moderate success, yet she seems to always find a way to get herself into trouble. Is this true of all human children?"

"See? No idea..."

"You know you could help without..." Once again, the voices dropped and carried on. As the conversation - or debate - carried on Alice learned quite a bit about her friend and even herself. Elias' theories on 'child rearing' were met with more debate. Things she herself wouldn't have even thought about considering she was just now coming out of her own childhood and teendom.

"Humans make mistakes. Human children make mistakes and push boundaries. They need our guidance to show them what is acceptable and what isn't, but it takes time." Her Master's words rang in her mind as she decided to silently slip away and head back to her dorm. No danger here, not anymore.

It was clear to her now more than ever while Chise was housed with a literal monster, his attitude toward her was anything but monstrous. He refused to lay an unkind finger on her and hesitated when it came to the suggestion of restricting her activity or having her serve time in a detention hall. He absolutely refused to allow them to force her before them in a trial. Still, Alice could sense an upset in Elias that was unnerving. While powerful, Chise was still young and still fragile both in body and spirit. Despite what he has said or displayed, would some sort of wrath be unleashed on her friend? Alice wondered what went on behind closed doors...it wasn't her business, but she still wondered.

The administration agreed they had all failed her. In the end, it was unanimous to allow them both to remain - after all, they were still performing research and experiments, Elias was surprisingly a stellar teacher, and they had relentlessly pursued them. Chise would not have to go before the board in a trial, on the conditions she complete her pre-exams in every class and that Elias would see to it she was adequately dealt with at home. How he went about it, they agreed, was ultimately up to him, but they discussed ideas and theories and personal preferences, more than Alice wished to know at that point.

She checked the time as she snuck into her room...hours...she'd been there hours and they still weren't done. The next day was going to be a drag. Poor Chise. She thought. After all that she still had to go through with exams. She probably doesn't feel too great, either.

Chise crawled into her bed with a slight whimper. She finished her pre-exams and now wanted nothing more than to sleep for a very long time. Lucy was still out, so she closed the blinds, shut the curtains, turned the lights off and slipped out of her jacket and shoes before climbing under her blanket and resting her head on her soft pillow Elias had insisted on making for her months ago. While the pillow was supposed to help her sleep well and soak up magic much like her teddy, right now it performed more as a sponge soaking up the tears that streamed down her face.

She felt a large paw rest on her shoulder, followed by another above her head and felt Ruth's big flat tongue glide across her face and lap up her tears. She momentarily took comfort in his consolation before it became a bit much for her. His tongue did nearly cover half her face and somehow it was wetter than before he started now.

She rolled over and gentle pushed his head away.

"I'm sorry Ruth - I -"

"Please don't cry anymore. You've cried too much already."

"Are you still mad at me?" When she picked up Ruth earlier in the day he gladly fell into her shadow but gave her the cold shoulder after greeting her and scolding her for her stupidity. He spent a good portion of the night in terror, sick, and then drowsy in a way he'd never felt before and he had no idea what was going on. Chise had apologized and explained she would have spoken to him but her intoxication made doing anything much too hard. He wasn't angry at that, he was frustrated at herself destructive and reckless behavior. After that, he sat in her shadow watching her intently but refused to answer her when she spoke to him.

"A little," he admitted reluctantly. Who wouldn't be? "But I don't like to see you cry." He licked her face again. "Please stop."

"I would if I could, Ruth, but you saw the way they treated me."

"You really think they're afraid?"

"You don't? Why would Alice lie? She wouldn't need to either, it's obvious."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Chise answered honestly. She patted the bed next to her and Ruth jumped to lay there. Chise set her arm over his neck and petted him gently as she lay a kiss on his head and cuddled close. His tail wagged ever-so-slightly. "I just want to sleep." She stated, with a yawn, closing her eyes and drifting off into a dream. Ruth watched her sleep for a bit before dozing off as well. Napping - especially with Chise - was one of his favorite past-times.

An hour or so later a barely noticeable pitter-patter on her door stirred Chise awake. She laid staring at the ceiling for some time before realizing that probably was the most refreshing nap she'd had in a long time. Her head didn't hurt anymore, thank goodness, she no longer felt the need to cry and her stomach wasn't churning as it was before. Looking over she saw Lucy also napping and wondered when she'd gotten in.

Rubbing her eyes, she slid out of bed and quietly opened the door. A paper butterfly fluttered in and hovered in front of her, glowing orange, red and yellow. Holding out her hand, the butterfly reformed itself as the note it started out as.

"Chise, we are going out. I will be at your room in a half-hour. Please be ready to go. -Elias"

Hmm. She thought. Where are we going? The mageling looked back to her familiar still snoozing on the bed and she mentally pulled him awake as well. We're going out somewhere Ruth. Would you like to come?

"Who is 'we'? Elias and you?"

Yes

Ruth replied with a snore and Chise had his answer. Last night must have taken a lot out of him too. As long as Elias was with her, Ruth was at ease for the most part. Chise took her time to put her shoes on and walked to the bathrooms to brush her hair and wash her face. She didn't feel particularly in the mood to change either, so she waited sitting on the floor outside her door in her uniform.

Not long after, she heard footsteps echoing down the halls and she went to stand up but stopped when she noticed it was another student, though she couldn't see who from how far away they were. She didn't get much time to see them get closer either as they immediately stopped upon seeing her and quickly turned and walked back where they came from.

Great. This was getting frustrating. She wondered if this was something that was going to blow over or last the rest of her life, however long it may be. Isn't there some spell or something? She wondered, knowing there was but the possibility of that was next to nothing. Not here, not this time.

She heard footsteps and turned to see who she expected to see - Elias. Her husband, her teacher and even her student, she wondered which hat they'd be wearing for the rest of the evening. It was bound to be interesting considering he was wearing his usual human form - the one that reminded her of Simon - and was wearing his full three-piece suit minus his mage's cloak. This was new.

"Chise, did you not get my note?" He asked her as she stood to greet him.

"Huh? I did..." Why else would I be sitting out here?

"Ah, I suppose I could have been more detailed. I was hoping you would have been changed from your uniform."

"Oh. Well, I can change really quickly..." She reached for the door and he placed his arm on the back of her shoulders and pulled her to him, guiding her down the hall at his side. Okay then, guess not.

"No need, we will simply make another stop for something more suitable." Unsure if she should pry further, Chise agreed and let him lead the way. They made their way out of the college and onto the street where he called for a cab and directed the driver to Angie's storefront, a good 20 minutes away. Chise silently giggled at the view of Elias crammed into a small English cab. It wasn't outrageously funny, but he looked cramped enough she couldn't help herself. Despite the humorous situation, they sat most of the ride in silence as Chise took in the city, sitting with her body brushed up against her husband's side and his arm around her. She'd been through so many times but still loved the inner city. Chise looked up to Elias was looked like he was drowsing off.

I wonder if he slept last night...? Poor Elias, this is all my fault...

Her self-inflicted guilt trip was cut short as the cab stopped a few minutes later. The driver turned to Chise and asked her for the fare.

"Oh, um..." The mageling sat back and looked at Elias who had indeed fallen asleep and reached into her own pocket to hand the man his cash before turning back to her Magus. "Elias?" She gently patted his arm. His eyes opened and focused on her before looking around. The door on the curb side opened, the driver rushing them out, so he can move on to his next ride. He was slightly surprised he dozed off that quickly during such a time and promised himself some tea or coffee. Caffeine didn't affect him like it did humans, but it would help take the edge off. He didn't want to ruin the evening he had planned for Chise.

It wasn't long until they were sitting in Angelica's living room having that very tea as she scolded Chise on once again sneaking off. She couldn't very much blame her for acting as teens act, but regardless - Chise was getting a little worn from hearing the same lecture from everyone she knew. Why must they make her relive it all when all she wanted was to forget it even happened?

After Chise's fifth or sixth "I know" response to Angelica, Elias could see what was happening and raised up his hand at the crafter, signaling enough.

"She is aware, Angie. Reminding her at this point isn't necessary. We are taking the proper precautions to ensure this doesn't happen again." To that, Angelica rolled her eyes playfully.

"You mean until it happens again? Don't you know that is the nature of children, Ainsworth?" Angie stood to refill Elias' tea for the third time. Chise was still sat staring at hers.

"I'm not a child." She mumbled.

"Yes, you are" Angelica and Elias both said in unison. Of course, compared to them she was a child. Who could compete with people who have been around a century or three?

"But we're not here to debate that," Elias said, finishing off the rest of his tea. Angelica collected his empty cup he offered her and stood.

"You're not, though we could have a long discussion on the topic. Did you read through the other letter I sent?"

"Indeed, I did."

"Good. Hold on, I'll be back."

Other letter? Chise wondered what all this was about as she slowly sipped her tea. She felt Elias' eyes on her and took a proper drink. She'd already been lectured several times these past two days, she didn't need another one about self-care.

As quick as she left, Angelica returned with a paper covered item and passed it to the Magus who took no time in unwrapping it and inspecting it.

It was obviously a bracelet, made from a soft red-hued leather cord that wrapped around thrice. Each cord was adorned with small 'charms', some being crystals, others being stones. In the very middle was a gilded rose leaf that sparkled in the light of the early evening that filled the room.

"It's beautiful..." Chise whispered.

"I'm glad you like it," Elias said to her, turning to Angelica. "Thank you, Angie, this will do perfectly. Again, I'm sorry for the short notice."

"I understand," she replied. "You're just lucky I had already had this nearly finished from when Chise 'lost' her first one. I wasn't sure if you'd ever come for it and almost repurposed it a few times. I only needed a few hours to add the final enchantment but this one should hold up just as well if not better than the last. Provided," the crafter leaned forward towards Chise and narrowed her eyes. "...your fledgling doesn't get any wild ideas."

To that, Elias chuckled and Chise blushed. I'm right here, you know...

"Chise? Can you show me your foot?"

"Huh?" Chise looked down at her booted feet and back up at her husband. "Why? Which one?"

"Either is fine," he waited patiently as she lifted her right foot up.

"Like this? Urk-hey!" As soon as she had lifted it, Elias took no time in removing her boot and her sock and slipping the bracelet on her ankle. Ooohhh...it's an anklet. Chise looked at her new 'accessory' and ran a finger over the leaf, stones and crystals.

"I'm sorry, Chise," Elias spoke to her softly with a tinge of guilt coloring his words. Chise stretched her leg out and twisted her foot in either direction, imagining getting used to something being on her ankle like this. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it would take getting used to.

With several curses having filled her body to this point, this type of item wasn't necessary as magic wasn't necessarily destroying her body anymore. True, she wasn't going to need one until after her problems could be dealt with, even then she may not need one, so the purpose of the anklet wasn't immediately apparent to her.

"But why?" she asked.

"Remember when I told you about the intended use of this charm?" he asked her, and her eyes went wide.

"As a means of punishment," Chise quickly realized what this was going towards and slipped her sock on then reached for her boot. This isn't happening.

"Well, that's the short way of explaining it," Angelica said as Chise laced her boot. "It's like tightening the reigns on a horse or putting a muzzle on a dog. At least, that's the intention of its use this time around..." Elias stood as the crafter spoke.

"I'm sure the college will be satisfied. Thank you again, Angie. Chise? How do you feel?" He extended a hand to her and helped her to her feet.

"Fine," she said. "I feel fine." Her mind was going over all the things she now couldn't do because of this. She had no idea how she would be able to even attend the college now.

"Excellent," the Magus said with a lifted voice. "Come, we have more places to be." And with that, they said their goodbyes and continued down the road. It wasn't terribly long until they reached their destination. In fact, Chise only counted two blocks they walked until they came upon a small boutique. In the window were mannequins of all sizes/ages displaying various articles of clothing from a "Sunday's Best" to "Perfect for Uni" and even "Custom Tailored."

On one such mannequin she spotted a dress that suspiciously was far too similar to a one Silky had made for her. Elias noticed as he held the door open for her she lingered looking at the piece a bit too long. "Do you like that one?"

Bonehead. "Well, yes, but I already have it..." She'd worn it more than once, he should have at least recognized it slightly. She stepped into the store and took it in as he closed the door behind her, jingling the little bell at the top of the frame.

"I'll be with you in a moment!" an old man's voice rang through the store from somewhere in the back. Chise looked around and was impressed at how much could fit in such a small storefront. There were clothing racks in the front, neatly displayed with hand-written signage for children, teens and adults. Further back were two very large tables and various sewing materials on top and papers spread about. Behind the tables was the checkout counter and behind the counter were shelves open shelves of fabric rolls and books and magazines of fashion trends and patterns. Elias places a hand on the small of Chise's back and they walked closer to the checkout counter.

As they stepped up the owner of the voice from before emerged from a hallway. He was an older gentleman with a long white beard and a hat sitting atop a hairless head. The type of hat she had only seen older English men wear. Funny how generations had their styles. His smile shone through a weathered and wrinkled face and his grey eyes sparkled.

"Mr. Ainsworth!" He cheerfully greeted Elias with a hearty pat on the back. "How are you doing, old chap!? Not seen you in ages." He knelt and ruffled Chise's hair. "Brought the little one along this time, eh? Nice to meet you darling, I'm Charles." Chise blushed and bowed slightly at him.

"N-nice to meet you, Sir," she stuttered. Little one? Do I really look that young still?

"What can I do for you today, my friend? Need any more dress shirts?" He turned to Chise. "Your old man goes through dress shirts like a toddler, he does!"

"Just here for something for her," Elias interjected him politely before he could ramble off more unneeded information. "We're also in a bit of a hurry."

"Yes, yes, always in a hurry," Charles grumbled, still cheerfully somehow. "And what exactly are you looking for?"

"Anything fit for a formal occasion should do, thank you."

Charles went to walk past them towards the clothing on the racks and stopped, turning back to them. "Don't you think she would like to choose?"

"Eh..." Elias really hadn't thought about that. He honestly didn't know much about clothing other than certain styles were worn for certain occasions. If you looked the part, what did it matter the minor details? Besides, Chise wasn't the most decisive of humans. Last time she had a choice to pick something out to wear she took an absurdly long time and didn't exactly choose anything of consequence. "Does it make a difference?" Was all he could manage.

"Kinda," Chise spoke up and looked at him with her big green eyes. She wasn't sure where they were going but wearing something out was a bit different than wearing something at home. After the other night...somehow appearances seemed like they meant a bit more. Maybe someday she could even pick up some makeup, provided she learned how to put it on. He honestly hadn't expected that but smiled back at her.

"Choose what you like, Chise," he said finally. "Don't dawdle, though, please," was his only request. It wasn't terribly important they meet their reservation time, as he had a way about getting what he wanted, but he was planning on giving her a sense of normalcy today so that would skew things a bit. He took a seat and picked up a magazine, flipping through it mindlessly as Chise and Charles went through her options.

She chose something rather quickly, or quicker than he figured she would, at least. When she emerged from the dressing room he took in her beauty, a beauty he knew all too well whether she was in pajamas or her uniform, he had to admit this dress was very flattering on his wife. It was a deep crimson color and relatively simple in design. There was a sweetheart neckline with sheer mini sleeves and the fabric was textured with a lace pattern that shimmered in the light as it moved. At her waist, it cinched and flowed down freely, resting just above her knees. Charles also paired her outfit with a pair of simple black flats as her brown boots weren't exactly fashion forward. The flats weren't anything special as he really didn't carry many shoes, but they fit her and complimented the dress. She looked like a proper woman and Elias wondered if perhaps this was too adult but Chise seemed happy, albeit embarrassed as she usually was, and he learned he enjoyed seeing her happy. She was happy, it was all that mattered.

Chise slipped her jacket and gloves on as Elias paid Charles and he bagged her old clothes and a few magazines he had picked out for Silky. As it turned out, this was one of the places Elias ordered fabrics and patterns for her. Made perfect sense. He explained this to her as they walked to their next destination, though he would not tell her where.

"You know," Elias said during a moment of silence as they walked. "You don't need to wear your jacket all the time. I was thinking most people would assume you had makeup on or had tattooed your arm."

"Hmm?" Chise listened and considered his point. He did have a point, but she didn't see why it mattered. True she was a bit self-conscious of it, but...

"It might look a bit nicer - without it, I mean, maybe more comfortable-" was Elias stumbling over his words? They stopped, and he opened the door to a building which had a black trimmed exterior and an awning Chise had not been paying attention to. She immediately knew where they were, however. They were greeted by a short woman with blonde hair dressed in a fine, form fitting white shirt, tie and pencil skirt. She stood behind a desk with the name "The Ledbury" displayed in large bold letters.

"Good evening," she warmly addressed them. "May I have the name your reservation is listed under?"

After their reservation was found the hostess lead them to their table and Chise took in her surroundings in awe. As they rounded the corner, the full dining room was brought into view. Black curtains decorated the edges of the spaces, separating groups of diners. Large black glass chandeliers hung from the walls and fresh flowers sat within nooks in black walls and columns throughout. This contrasted the brilliant white linens on the tables and chairs which reflected the light bouncing off the white ceiling. This was fancy.

"Miss?" The hostess brought Chise out of her daze of amazement.

"Huh? I'm so sorry, Ma'am. Excuse me, could you repeat that?" she pulled out her best formalities she could fathom.

"No problem, Miss," she pulled out a chair for Chise. "I asked if I could have your coat, please?"

"Oh, eh-" She hesitated and looked at Elias who stood in front of his seat, waiting patiently for Chise to take hers. At last she shrugged off her jack and handed it along with her gloves to the woman who took them and their shopping bag with her to the front without so much as batting an eye to her jet-black arm.

Chise took her seat and Elias followed suit. They were greeted by their waitress who poured water for them and handed them menus. This was...different for Elias. They never did this.

Finally, she stopped pretending to read over the menu and set it down.

"Are you gonna tell me what we're doing, Elias?" She addressed him quietly, not wanting to disturb the rest of the very packed dining hall or pull any attention to herself.

"What do you mean?" He obliviously did not follow suit. "I was going to explain a bit more after we had placed our orders but isn't it obvious?"

"Obvious? What's obvious is this seems like some kind of...date..." Oh you big dummy! He's taking you on a date. What!?

"It was brought to my attention despite my attempts at providing you with the opportunities to live out your teendom I was coming short at paying attention to your needs at certain experiences. I hadn't realized how important these types of things were to humans, for that I apologize, Chise. Perhaps if I had given you more attention in this way-"

"No, Elias, stop." She all but ordered, still softly, though. "This has nothing to do last night. I promise. It was not your fault." She took a drink of water and almost melted at how delicious the water was. The water! How can water taste so different?

"You may say that as much as you like, but it's not entirely true. I intend to fix this." He stopped as she took another big gulp of water. "Have you been drinking enough water today, Chise? Need I remind you how important water-"

"Dates do not lave lectures," Chise dabbed her mouth with her napkin and placed it on her lap after looking around and seeing other diners had done the same. She caught Elias quickly imitating her actions. "You don't really know how these things work, do you?"

His human-like eyes stared back at her and he replied honestly. "Not really, no. Last night I took some time brushing up on courting rituals. What do you think so far?" Somehow, through his human face, his eyes still spoke to her more than anything. He was eagerly waiting her response on her thoughts.

"Well, I'm impressed to start," she admitted, stifling a snicker brought on by how cute this was. He brushed up on 'courting rituals'. "Honestly, I've never done this before, so I'm not too sure how it works, either."

"Believe it or not, Renfred recommended this restaurant. I'm not sure if he was doing me a favor or setting me up for failure. It was incredibly hard to get a reservation for tonight, but it seems very popular, so it must be a favorite here."

"Do you two still need time?" their waitress appeared, and they looked at each other.

"Um..." Chise picked up her menu and looked at it, obviously confused. She really didn't even know half the words on the menu and it made her feel like her English skills were novice at best.

"What do you recommend?" Elias spoke up and the waitress rattled off how the menu worked and what items were popular. They could choose between a few dishes for the first, second, third and fourth courses and as she described them the decision seemed even harder as it all sounded delicious. In the end Chise asked Elias to order for her and the waitress took their menus and disappeared, leaving back to their conversation.

"What happened last night?" Chise asked, taking a sip of water again.

"I thought you said you didn't experience much memory loss. Has anything changed? Do you feel okay?"

"No, I mean when you met with the college...Alice, well, she-"

"Ah. So that's who was listening. I'll have to speak with Renfred about this. He wants to go on about pushing boun-"

"No, no, no, no, no," Chise defensively waved her hands in front of her. "Please, promise you won't say anything. I don't want Alice to get in any trouble because of me. I've already caused enough trouble for everything. Besides, she didn't really tell me anything. That's why I asked."

"We just had a discussion, that's all."

"She said it was more like a fight than anything."

"So, she did tell you about it, then?" He had thought he caught her in a fib. "It wasn't a fight. Yes, I was angry, that much I know. Things got...heated. But it wasn't a fight. If it were a fight, things would be quite different right now." He stated that so nonchalantly a shiver almost went down Chise's spine.

What did that mean? "She just said there was a, er, heated conversation and that was it really. So, what happened?" She clarified and asked her question once more.

"Your bracelet," he explained, "is part of our agreement for continuing there. We will need to utilize it until we can prove that you have your power under control and keep this trouble in check. The college discussed how this was turning into more a liability than anything."

"So, I can't use magic until they say so? Is that it? Also, it's an anklet."

"Er, anklet?"

"Yes, when it's on your ankle it's an anklet."

"Okay, your anklet isn't simply designed to stop the magic. It's more like Angie described, like putting a muzzle on a dog, or a training collar, even."

Chise looked down at her foot and the anklet adorning it. "I still don't understand what that means."

"When you put a muzzle on a dog, it can still move about, it can still make noise and it can still sniff and jump and do a lot of what it pleases but the muzzle will stop it from barking and biting. Likewise, with a training collar, if the dog pulls the leash the collar will push back and keep them from jumping forward or acting out of turn. As Angie described, the same goes with the reins on a horse, the rider tightens them and has better control over the animal."

"So, I'm an animal," his apprentice said this dryly and looked at him with a sadness he hadn't seen often.

"It's just a way of looking at it, Chise. The anklet will stop you from going overboard. Even if you want to, it won't allow a surge of magic that you cannot control. It can sense your emotions and your adrenaline and will shut off magic completely if and when things get too strong. Even if you try to take it off, it will not come off. Not unless I or another mage or its creator remove it. Still, I chose your ankle as a better option than your wrist, considering it may be a hassle to remove it in case you were to somehow find a way to remove it on your own in a situation."

"So, this is my punishment, then..."

"To some, yes. I prefer to think of this as an education tool and I hope you can see this as a way to learn how to control your emotions and how they work with your abilities. In fact, had this not happened I'd still be wondering what your breaking point is and how to deal with it."

Says the guy who doesn't know the first thing about emotions. Chise stopped herself. No, that wasn't fair, Chise. This wasn't his doing, it was mine.

She was about to open her mouth to reply but the waitress returned with their first course. Her plate was sat in front of her an announced. Wow! This truly is 'posh!'

"For the Miss we have a candied beetroot which was baked in clay and English caviar atop smoked and dried eel. For the Sir we have a salad of vegetables, artichoke, truffle cream and cured egg yolk. Please enjoy." She topped off their waters and disappeared again.

Chise looked at her plate in wonder. The only thing she was familiar with was the eel, but it looked nothing like what she had in Japan. The caviar looked like tiny little bubbles and the beetroot looked like slices of a lollipop. She wasn't even sure what to eat first and went to ask Elias if he knew anything about her dish when she noticed he was already about half way through his salad.

"What the..."

"Hmm?" he quickly reached for his napkin and Chise giggled, shaking her head.

"Were you hungry, husband?"

"Very. Also, this is delicious." He took a few more bites and swallowed before speaking again. He had never quite mastered 'speaking with your mouth full' like he'd seen humans do. Naturally, he had no cheeks to even practice with and it was rare he ate in his glamor. Besides that, he knew it was rude to do so, especially after reviewing the ways of a gentleman last night...well, this morning. "What's wrong? Do you not like your food?"

"Er, no, it's just very pretty and I'm...I'm not too sure how to eat it."

"Hmmm..." Elias' eyes narrowed in thought as he looked over her food. "What I know about caviar is you push them to the roof of your mouth and let them pop. It's a very popular food among the wealthy these days. Did you know they were fish eggs?"

"Yes..." Chise quickly grabbed her fork and knife and gingerly cut into her food, taking small polite bites and doing as Elias had said with the caviar. It was a strange taste with notes of salty and sweet with a texture that complimented the eel. She very much enjoyed this and very much enjoyed Elias took her hint and didn't continue with his explanation of the history of fish eggs. He tended to ramble on about some things and while she didn't usually mind, something made her feel like a history lesson right now would put the mood off.

The rest of the meal was equally as delicious. Plate after plate was brought to them and they chit chatted about their food, the restaurant, how Chise's tests had gone, why Ruth stayed behind, the clothing store, Angelica, etc. By the time their fourth course came Chise wasn't sure she had room but after looking at the strawberries she couldn't resist. How was it possible for food to be so dang delicious? Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was the excitement, who knew, but this food was great and Chise made a mental note to ask Silky to recreate these dishes if she could.

As they finished their dessert, Chise commented on how she didn't want this night to end just yet.

"...It's the perfect end to a very rough day or so," she said.

"Our evening isn't over just yet" Elias stated, reaching across the table and taking her hands into his. "I told you, I've been neglected certain needs of yours and I intend to fix that."

Uhhh, certain needs? What?! Panic.

"So, tell me, Chise, what kind of mischief can we get into tonight?"

Oh good, those certain needs. Relief. "Mischief?" Elias nodded, waiting for her to just tell him what to do. Or so it seemed that way. "I don't really know, I'm not a mischief type person..." With that, the Magus crossed his arms and smirked as he looked at her. "What?! I'm not." He chuckled, and she harrumphed.

"Tell me something you've always wanted to do. Anything, within reason, and I will make it happen."

What is his game... Chise eyed him in disbelief. His game was quite simple and was no game, either. He wanted to give her the teen experience she would have missed out on had they not crossed paths. The opportunity to get into trouble that wouldn't hurt her. He understood now the balance they both needed and was intent on letting her run wild for a night and break some rules in an environment and situation he had control over. If it wasn't too harmful or dangerous, he would oblige. She wasn't the type to want to do something inherently wrong, but he was prepared to vandalize a wall or two if that was her wish. Angelica's letter taught him all about that.

"I don't know..." The mageling managed. "This is very odd. Are you feeling okay, Elias?"

"I am fine, why do you ask?"

"A few reasons. For starters you fell asleep earlier in the cab, remember? Maybe this is all the product of your being exhausted. Did you even sleep last night?"

"No." Chise put her face in her palms. "It's fine, Chise. It's just been a while since I've not slept regularly. I apologize for that."

"No, don't." She shook her head and grabbed her napkin, setting it on the table. "Is this about what Mr. Renfred told you? Or what Angelica had written to you? What was in that letter anyways?"

"Renfred, no anyone else, does not dictate our activities, Chise. Understand that," he continued. "Angie's letter was about teens and their nature. She wrote to me about problems you might come into, ways you may rebel, things you need to grow into a healthy, well rounded adult, and how to deal with them with appropriate punishments and positive reinforcement." She kind of wished she hadn't asked. Why does everyone feel so strongly about discussing dealing with her without her input as well?

"So, then what is this?"

"We're rebelling, together. I want to understand you, Chise. I want to see what is so appealing about this." There it was.

Chise sat in thought a moment. The waitress brought them the bill and she sat in silence for quite a while before speaking. Elias wasn't trying to teach her anything. He was trying to get her to teach him. This wasn't about her at all, as her selfish thinking led her to believe. He truly wanted to understand life as a teenager. A human teenager. He patiently waited for her response as he always did, and she finally spoke up.

"The zoo."

"The zoo?" This wasn't what the Magus was expecting at all. In all his hundreds of years of experience watching humans from the shadows, in all the books he'd read, in what had been told to him by so many people offering often unsolicited advice on raising a human, nobody ever mentioned this would be the type of mischief his teenage apprentice would want to get in to. It could hardly even be labeled mischief. Chise nodded.

"I wanna see the animals," she said. "Maybe tomorrow we ca-" Elias stood up and took the bill in his hand as she was speaking.

"The zoo it is."

"Huh? What?! Wait-" Chise scrambled out of her seat. By the time she reached him he had already paid and was collecting her belongings from the host. Those mile-long legs will be the death of me.

"Are you ready?" He said to her holding the door open and flagging down yet another cab. The sun had set while they enjoyed their dinner and the street and building lights lit the city with a neon glow. Chise wanted to linger to observe but a hand took hold of hers and pulled her into the car and they were once again moving on to a new destination.

"Elias!" What was getting in to him? He wrapped an arm around her and grasped her arm, tilting his head down to brush against her hair and nuzzling her with his cheek.

"My wife wants to see the animals, we will see the animals." Chise blushed slightly and settled in next to him.

"But right now? The zoo is probably closed..."

"Oh, it is." She was right, the zoo indeed had been closed. Chise lowered her voice to a gentle whisper, not wanting the driver to hear their business.

"Elias, that's illegal! We can't just break into the zoo. Besides, there's security...probably."

"Haven't you caught on I'm not terribly interested in following the laws of humans?" Thankfully he had also lowered his voice, who knows what would happen if someone else caught wind of their conversation. "They're impossible to keep up with."

"But...it's wrong!"

"Isn't that the point of mischief?"

"You know you can be really dense sometimes," she observed. Oh crap! Did I say that out loud? He took his hand from her arm and set it on her head.

"You teach me so much about humans, Chise. Thank you. I fear my realization may have opened up more questions than answers, however." She turned to look at him and a warm smile was on his face.

"What did you learn, Elias?"

"You are too easily swayed by the words of others. Even though you have moral obligations against breaking into a closed establishment for your own gain, you will still end up participating. Not everyone is like that, but I wonder why that is true for you?"

"Who say's I'm going to do it?" She ignored his question.

"Your history of choices for one," he explained. "Also, because I told you we're going to do it."

"Ordering me about isn't exactly your thing, Elias."

"It's not an order, it's a fact."

"And if I refuse?" Chise watched him put a hand to his chin in thought.

"I suppose I will have to carry you, then," he answered her with a twinkle in his eye. "I do hope you won't be too challenging. I estimate we'll probably have, at most, fifteen minutes to explore before anyone takes notice that something is off. Then we'll head home."

He's planning this like a picnic! He's serious! For a minute she thought this was some sort of test, but he truly was about to break them into the zoo just, so she could see an animal or two.

And that was exactly what he did. He had the cab stop just outside the back entrance of the zoo and it didn't take much for the employee access door to open for them.

Everything on the inside was dark, but not terribly, as there were several dim lights lit to make night travel easier. At this point, the zoo had already been closed for a few hours so most of the staff was gone save for the essential personnel like security and a few keepers. Chise's heart was racing in worry and excitement. Elias assured her if she stuck close to his side they were virtually undetectable but that didn't stop her nerves from tearing her up on the inside. He had said as his spell wore off alarms would begin tripping and they'd need to flash out of there quickly but that he would still tell her before that happened, so they could slip in and out undetected. She trusted him, but the thought of this going south didn't sit well with her.

Still, they had free reign of the zoo and she was tasked with choosing an exhibit to see before they had to take their leave. She chose the closest one for time's sake: Land of the Lions. Plus, she'd never seen a real lion before and she wondered if they would be sleeping since the sun had gone down.

To her surprise, they were incredibly active and huge. Much bigger than she ever envisioned. It seemed like everything was bigger than her, though, so she admittedly couldn't have been too surprised at their size. She watched as the big male lion rolled around on the ground and the many females paced around the exhibit and played with each other and the toys they had. The viewing area was also absurdly close to the lions and made her feel like she was inside the exhibit with them. Chise wondered how this could possibly be safe and hoped that she was missing whatever safeguards there were in place due to the darkness of the night.

She rested her arms on the railing and Elias leaned next to her, watching the animals as well.

"I never realized how big they were..." she whispered.

"Hmm, yes they are quite large, aren't they?" he responded as the male took notice of a disturbance and investigated their presence. He hopped up to his feet and the females stopped and watched him as he slowly crept towards them and paced along his side of his barrier.

"Can he see us?"

"Not entirely, but he knows we're here."

"Wow..." she stared in awe at how muscular the beast before her was. He opened his mouth and yawned, licking his maws, exposing his giant, razor sharp canines and shaking his giant mane back and forth. A deep purr emitted from the beast as it sniffed the air. Its glowing eyes seemed to meet Chise's and she froze in wonder.

After deciding there was no threat, the lion stepped away, swinging his long tail back and forth as he returned to his dirt mound and all was back to normal. Chise let out the air she had been holding in.

"Isn't it weird how something can be so cute and so dangerous and powerful at the same time?" She pondered aloud.

"Is it cute?" Elias asked.

"I think they're cute, lots of people do. But you don't really think about how deadly they are until their teeth are front in front of your face..."

"If you'd like we can see some other animals. We still have time," Elias offered, but she was still stuck on her last thought. They stood there a while longer in silence and Chise went over a question she had in the back of her head ever since this morning. Like most awkward questions, she wasn't sure how to say it or if the timing was right, but they were alone now she didn't know when her next opportunity would be.

"How do you deal with people who are afraid of you, Elias?" She kept her eyes on the lions, not exactly wanting to see his reaction to this question. Oh no, did that come out wrong?

"I try not to deal with people in general," he answered, thoughtfully. Not exactly the answer she was looking for.

"I mean within yourself. Doesn't it bother you?" She turned her head to look at him now. He dropped his glamor before they'd even entered the park and now she just had his glowing orbs to tell her his thoughts when his voice would not. Right now, she read confusion. Or maybe hesitation?

"It can be bothersome to be made a fuss over, especially with children. Sometimes it can be dangerous. That's why I wear a glamor around those who do not know me, even the veil with those who do. It's easier to conceal. Business with humans would take forever if I had to constantly deal with this-" he pointed to his canine skull, "-getting in the way."

"Um..." Chise turned her whole body this time and fumbled with her fingers. "What I mean is, doesn't it ever...hurt? Don't the comments of others, words like 'monster' or 'dangerous' make you think twice about yourself? A long time ago you were convinced I was afraid of you, like I was like the rest. Wasn't there some kind of relief when I told you I wasn't?"

"To them, I am a monster, I suppose," Elias was beginning to see where she was going with this. "There's no point in arguing or trying to convince them otherwise. As to whether it hurts or not, I wouldn't know. I will say I did find a sense of calm when you told me you weren't afraid, but I was probably more skeptic at the time. Looking back, it makes sense you wouldn't be, though currently I'm not too sure about just blindly believing you anymore."

"Hmm..." Chise accepted his last comment. Fair enough. But she knew this was probably going to be a wash of a conversation anyways. Of course, it doesn't get to him, he wouldn't know what it felt like...or would he? "How does it make you feel, though? Do you feel anything at all?"

"Only the urge to run away, a long long time ago. These days? Not at all. I guess you could say I've grown used to it, even though I do my best to conceal. Lately that's seemingly been a moot effort, although I'm next to certain I'm not the most disturbing thing walking around at the college."

Not anymore, you're not...

"Why do you ask?" the Magus finally questioned her on the odd subject. Surely there was more to this.

Chise dropped her hands to her sides, lowered her gaze and took a deep breath.

"They're afraid of me."

"Hmm?" He put a hand on her shoulder. "Afraid of you? How?"

"Because of what happened, I guess. Heck, I might even be a little afraid of me now that I think about it." She tried to manage a laugh, but it fell short. "Next to nobody will talk to me, they won't look at me, they've even jumped out of my way. I don't know how to tell them I'm not dangerous...that last night was a fluke, that...that..." Her husband leaned down to nuzzle the side of her head and she grazed the tip of his skull with a hand, taking comfort in his presence.

"I understand," Elias whispered softly to her.

"We are supposed to be learning and networking and helping each other," Chise continued. "But so far all I've done is cause people trouble and made sure nobody wants to help me or be helped by me and I don't know how to fix this. I might just need to get used to it at this point, you know? Maybe...maybe someday it won't bother me anymore."

"Never," he said, with a calmness of confidence, "will you have to 'get used to it'. I assure you, Chise, if it's anything I've learned about humans it is that you are ever changing, and don't always mean the things you say. Yes, you exhibited immense power, rightfully they should respect that, so if anything, that is what you must accept and get used to, just as they will in time." She wrapped her arms around him and he ran a hand along her back as she hugged him tightly. "I do apologize I am not able to offer you anything other than my understanding in what you are going through, but I will help you get through it nonetheless. However long it takes; I promise."

"Thank you," she said, still holding on to him. "For everything."

"Your thanks isn't necessary, my wife. However," he tapped her back and she shuffled back, puzzled. "This spell is nearly worn off now. What do you say we head back to the college and get some sleep? We can come back properly tomorrow, if you'd like."

"Properly? You mean like not breaking in, huh? Did you learn about the appeal of mischief?"

"Actually, I may prefer this, there aren't crowds everywhere, it's quiet-"

"HEY!" A shout emerged from down a pathway and two lights were bobbing up and down getting closer to the lion exhibit. Chise froze, staring at the before she was tugged off in the opposite direction. When she turned back Elias was pulling her in another one of his glamors - the copy of herself. He was also wearing a grin. It was a bit off-putting to say the least. Eerie, even.

"What?! Why!? Are you enjoying this?!" Chise whispered harshly as they rounded the back of the exhibit and fled behind bushes and trees, making a beeline to the wall that separated the zoo from the city.

"It's easier this way," he explained when they finally made it to the wall. Just as quickly as he had slipped into his glamor, he slipped into her shadow and took control of her body, scaling her over the fence in the blink of an eye, just as the security guards caught up to them.

"Damn kids!" one of them said. The other radioed back that 'they were gone' and they both retreated.

Once out of sight and out of mind, Elias released her and reformed in front of her bewildered face.

"I just - We just - You - How?!" Chise stuttered and stumbled over her words, completely flabbergasted at what just took place.

"That was an interesting little challenge, Chise," she saw his smile emerge again in the dark of the night, despite his skull face. "We must try mischief again some time."


	4. Extrasensory Perceptions Pt 1

Chise slowed her pace as she came upon a clear path in the dense forest she had been trekking through - alone. It was mid day and the sun was hot where it shone through the thick foliage growing above. Otherwise, there was a faint chill in the stillness of the woods. She'd been off any sort of trail for a good mile or so, she estimated, so she had to be far enough for her exercise.

She stopped as she set foot on the small worn path of dirt and looked around. No roads, no sounds of traffic or people, the faint glimmer of a trail from an ariel passing by, and an occasional fallen tree covered in moss were her company at the moment.

Until she sensed exactly what she was to find, creeping somewhere around her.

"Oh, no," she said playfully, continuing her path slowly, exaggeration each footfall. "I'm being followed, whatever shall I do?" She hurried up her pace again and worked her way into a light jog, still careful where she put her feet as the path was quite narrow and filled with roots. "I really hope something scary and dangerous doesn't attack," she said, grinning and jogging off the path and swinging up onto a large stump which had been recently formed by what looked like lighting as the ends of it were a charred black. The rest of the tree was broken in several pieces next to it.

She looked around from her new height and squinted, soaking in details from her surroundings. This had to be it, her intuition wasn't lying to her, she just couldn't put her finger on the precise location. Of course it would help if what she was looking for wasn't moving, but that wasn't the point.

Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder and spun around, but there was nothing.

"Huh?" A split second later, supple roots took hold of her and tightened snug around her body. "No!" She shouted this time and wiggled in the hold. "Come on..." Chise heard a thud behind her and the roots loosened to be replaced by two large arms. They pulled her back and the warmth of her husband's body soothed the light chill that had begun to kiss her skin.

"You're not taking this seriously," Elias leaned his skull down next to her head and spoke calmly. "What if it were not me following you, Chise?"

"But it was," Chise turned in his grasp and leaned back, forcing Elias to hold her tightly so she would not fall. "I am no damsel in distress but I do have someone who has my back, right?"

Elias sighed. "I see we are done today," he said as he hoisted her up onto his shoulder, her head and arms dangling slightly over his back as he hopped off the stump and began his stroll back to the house.

"Elias!" Chise wiggled her legs and he tightened his hold on her thighs. "I can walk." She balled her fists and playfully thumped on his back, giggling. "Please!"

"Nope," he said, pushing through. "What has gotten into you lately?"

"Nothing, I'm just playing around! I promise..." A slight whine decorated her response.

"I don't know, Chise, I think perhaps someone has put a spell on my wife. I'm going to need to perform some experiments to break her of this."

Chise paused considering his words. If she could see his eyes she'd see his smile but he had a way of hiding certain inflections in his voice. Whether he learned how to do this or simply just could not naturally speak that way was neither here nor there. Often times Chise needed to stop and think about his words carefully when she couldn't read his face.

He set her down to her feet as he'd come to a more even, wider path. She looked at his orbs formed into little crescents which confirmed her suspicions. He indeed was joking.

"Thank goodness, I thought you were serious for a second," Chise said as she took her place next to him on their walk.

"While it is true I do jest, I still would like to know what is so amusing about our lesson today. You were much more dedicated when we started this."

"Two days ago," she shrugged. "I don't know, it's like a big game of hide and seek and the more we do it like this, the funnier it gets."

"Hide and seek?"

"It's a children's game. Before, it was like a scavenger hunt which is like a game where you look for certain things. Now that I'm looking for you it's like hide and seek. There's no sense of real danger."

"Clairvoyance is knowing what is around you, regardless the nature and regardless of its visibility. I'm not very talented in it, as I told you before, but I still would like to explore this with you. I believe you can at least outperform me at it one day. And, as I explained earlier, there doesn't always have to be a sense of danger. But there could be. At least with the fae. Humans are a different story, but fae should be relatively easy for a sleigh beggy."

"'Anything could be lurking in the shadows'...I know..." She mumbled. "If I could rely on magic when I needed it most..."

"You can't always, Chise," Elias stopped and reached for her, pulling her to his side and placing a gloved hand over her eyes. "Show me your clairvoyance now. Tell me, what do you see?"

"Your hand," she answered flatly. Her teacher held his position and waited on her. She sighed and focussed, letting her senses read her surroundings to her. "There's water up ahead," she pointed towards their left, "that way. And...there's...um...a highway beyond that, much farther away. And over there," she pointed right, "there's a...neighbor? I don't know, it's different from those I've met so far. More...solid? Does that make sense?"

"Mmhmm," Elias removed his hand and lowered his voice. "It's been following both of us for some time. I can explain more later but please stay close." He kept an outstretched arm to her side, holding his coat up as a shield of sorts around her and they continued down the clearing with haste. "He knows we know he's there, now. Can you read his intent?"

Chise shook her head. She had a hard enough time reading intent from humans she was face to face with; how could she possibly even try to do this with a fae she couldn't even see?

"He is just watching, right? Lots of them just watch..."

"He was, but there's been a shift since we acknowledged his presence." Chise tried to feel what he was talking about but despite her honest attempt, she fell short. Nothing felt different to her.

"I'm sorry, I don't-"

"Child of Thorn," a voice snarled in front of them, followed by the appearance of a creature akin to monsters of Chise's childhood. It appeared to be the size of a small dog but grew larger as it approached. It was hairless and had black, wrinkled skin that covered a famished frame. It's legs were like an animals and it's arms were humanoid yet long, adorned with spikes that extended from it's forearms past its elbows, and its hands ended in bear-like claws. Where eyes should have been were two voids, a black substance leaking from them staining its face which had slits for a nose and a mouth that formed a fanged smile from pointed ear to pointed ear. A thin, wiry tail swung from its back which had folded, thick, leathery wings covered in the same spikes on its arms. It crawled towards them on all fours much like a spider before pushing up to its legs and assuming a height equal to Chise. It stopped roughly a meter before them and it's nostril slits opened, sucking in air. It exhaled and steam escaped through its razor sharp, yellow colored fangs. Chise put her hands over her nose and mouth in response - the odor was like death.

"The rumors were true, it is a sleigh beggy. How delectable..." as it spoke, its head twitched in different directions, as if trying to place exactly where they were. "The things we could do with a sleigh beggy..." A shiver went up her spine and she watched as it stretched its wings out, their span at least triple its own height, and refolded them.

"You've investigated, now be on your way," Elias spoke to it as he put his arm between the creature and Chise..

"Just a little," its voice wavered in a plea. "To see, I want to see. She took my eyes, Mother did. Lend me your child, Thorn, please." It turned it's head towards Chise. "Precious little mageling, show me your power. Just a little..." It fell down to it's front arms and started to circle them. "You're such a pure little thing. I know you'll help me. Say you'll help me."

As it cycled back around it brought itself as close as it could to Chise, close enough she could feel the heat of it's breathe on her face, and widened it's grin. "Why learn it if you'll never use it?" Chise held her breath, half in suspense and half in a need to not breathe in the stench this thing emitted. It was enough to make her light headed. It began to whisper to her, "What do you say? Will you he-"

Elias' patience ran out as this being pushed its way much too close for comfort. In a single motion he swung one arm back, pushing Chise directly behind him as he grabbed the creature by its neck and held it into the air as it kicked and grasped at his hand, trying to pull himself free.

"We have nothing for you and you've nothing for us; be on your way," Elias commanded. The creature shrunk itself back down to the size it first approached them to break itself free and it took flight, hovering above them momentarily.

"I will be watching you, child. We will meet again."

Chise and Elias watched as it flew away, disappearing into the thick of the forest. As soon as it was gone, they resumed their journey back home.

"Elias..." Chise addressed him. "What was that thing? Did you know him?"

"No, I didn't know him, but that is a type of vampire. I haven't seen one in this area in some time, however."

"A vampire? Like 'Dracula' vampire or a leannan sidhe vampire? How many types are there?"

"Dracula? Hmm, not entirely, but similar. You're aware those tales, while somewhat true, are works of fiction, right?"

"Yes, but as a point of reference..."

"As a point of reference the world of these creatures is much more complicated and they're closer to demons than anything else."

"Is it true they start as humans though? Was that thing once a person?"

"It's true that what you saw was once a human. The curse within him has completely changed him to what you saw. They operate similarly to the well-known legends and their line is much like a family. A 'father' vampire is the closest to the demons. He is the one who makes the pact and contracts the disease. When he takes a wife, she becomes a 'mother' vampire who will create her own fledglings to do her bidding, protect her, serve her and support her. Each of her children were once humans she either seduced or tricked into service. Each of those create their own and so on. The further from the father and mother a vampire is created, the less powerful it is and the more it becomes a mindless undead beast."

"That one seemed to have at least half a mind."

"Yes, it was probably a second or third generation. They don't typically look like that either, what we saw was what happens to a vampire who has been starved beyond repair. A healthy vampire will appear human.

"That must be how they can create more, then, right?"

"Right."

Chise thought on this for a while as they moved forward quietly, eventually finding their way out of the forest and along the familiar road that lead them to their home. Elias flipped his veil over once they found their way next to the pavement. The sun was beaming down on them with no protection and she could feel her brow moisten with sweat. Wiping her forehead, she waited a step and trailed behind Elias closely, using his height to her advantage.

"Hey," she smiled when he turned back to see where she'd gone. "Who's in whose shadow now?"

"Clever. Good thing you put sunscreen on before we left this morning, right?"

"Heh heh, yeah..." Good thing I found the forest.

"Chise."

"That thing was asking for help," she changed the subject but he'd already pulled out a small bottle of sunscreen, slipped off a glove and began slathering her face, neck and shoulders with it..

"You're already red," he observed, holding her arm out, "though just a bit. Do you feel cooler yet?"

"I do, I think I'll walk in your shadow a while more," Chise said with a blush. Always so protective.

"Sounds like a good idea," he returned the container to his pocket and continued on. "He was asking for help, yes, but we won't be the ones helping him."

"Why? Will he try and suck my blood?" She giggled, mimicking a transylvanian accent poorly, her question somewhat of a joke, somewhat not.

"He intends on tricking you as that is their specialty. You must not talk to it, make a deal with it, or offer help in any way. Even something as simple as giving directions can lead to trouble. It's actually best if we don't even acknowledge it any further. The less attention we give it the better. Now, had you been focusing and taking this seriously you would have noticed him."

"I knew he was there."

"Not until after I instructed you to look for him."

"I also couldn't sense his intent or alignment. At all. And I did try."

"It will come with time. You just need to practice."

What if he were wrong? Chise desperately wanted to excel at everything, even things he said she wasn't ready for she would steal away on her own to study up on, just to gain a base knowledge. Some things she felt she'd never be able to do, though, and this was turning out to be much harder to perform in practice than reading or listening to him explain his understanding of the skill. She wondered if, perhaps, this was something she just wouldn't be very good at? Would that disappoint him, then?

"It would be easier if you weren't there, maybe." She theorized aloud.

"Maybe," he considered her point, "but we won't chance it. Not yet, anyways. Do you see why it's dangerous to run off through here on your own?"

The road ended and they followed the path leading back to their home.

"I know it's dangerous, that's why I asked..." She dropped her point there, not wanting to start an argument. More accurately, not wanting to restart an argument from a few days ago. The argument that lead to Elias bending and agreeing to teach her skills to fend for herself if need be - clairvoyance being the first of many self preservation skills. He hadn't planned to introduce that to her just yet, but she insisted. After all, as he had explained to her, each line of skills take many, many years to master, and with his not being terribly talented in this one, it might take a decade or more to even learn the basics. Now, she felt like she probably wasn't ready and she was in the wrong for pushing for this. Not to mention she likely came off as ungrateful for not taking this exercise as seriously as Elias had hoped she would have. But she couldn't help it, essentially she was playing hide and seek with an ancient mage and it lifted her spirits. Could he blame her for that? Besides, he had a weird sense of humor himself.

"I know you can do it," Elias reiterated. "But we can revisit this at another time, if you like. I have something else planned for us this evening."

"Oh...Elias, you didn't tell me that," Chise hurried next to him and looked up at his red-veiled skull. "I made plans with Alice this evening."

"Alice? Again? You saw her yesterday as well." Chise heard reservation in his voice, as if he wanted to say more but held back.

"I know, but she's coming over this time. What did you have planned? Maybe before she comes-"

"It's not important," the Magus interrupted her, turning his head away from with a small sigh. Chise responded by pinching the bridge of her nose and exhaling a heavy sigh of her own.

"What was it?"

"I said it's not important."

"I heard you, but clearly it was something you wanted to do," the mageling grabbed her husband's sleeve as they came up to their house.

"I wish you would have consulted me about this."

"I wish you would have consulted me about this." She repeated back at him, getting frustrated. I guess I'm not avoiding an argument after all. "You said you didn't mind if I hung out with my friends."

"You've done something nearly every day these past two weeks."

"So?"

Elias chose not to answer her. Initially, when he'd told her she could 'hang out' with friends, it was a way to comfort her as she seemed distraught over the end of the semester, which meant many students would be returning home and she wouldn't be seeing anyone. He didn't realize she would be so quick to call on the company of her schoolmates, especially those who had treated her so poorly only weeks ago. The same ones who called her names and ostracized her were now inviting her to movies or parties and while she'd had her own hang-ups about getting involved with them again, she ultimately forgave them and things seemed to go back almost to the way they were before, nobody mentioning the incident .

He didn't feel comfortable with her gone so often, enjoying other people. Since she had not mentioned any plans he assumed they had the evening free to be together. News that would not happen did not sit well, especially since she'd not brought this up until now. They were supposed to be open with each other and this was proving to be much more difficult in practice. He was going to need time to sort this out.

The two reached the porch and Chise stopped just before it, turning to say something to Elias as he continued inside, leaving her standing there with her mouth open.

Chise pursed her lips and followed him inside, catching him already reaching the top of the stairs and turning the corner towards their room. Ruth trotted down the stairs passed him and greeted her by sniffing her legs as he wagged his tail.

"You guys weren't gone for long," he said. "Where were you? You smell...uh...interesting."

"I probably smell like a rotting carcass," Chise held her arm up and inhaled before making a gagging sound. "Yep. I need a shower. Ugh."

Chise found Silky in the kitchen and asked her to let her make lunch today before quickly showering the stench of that thing off her. Dressing and returning to the kitchen to start on lunch, she asked Ruth to tell Elias food would be ready soon.

As she plated the salads and sandwiches, Ruth returned shaking his head. "He won't answer."

With a blank expression, Chise dropped the plates of food on the table and told Ruth to eat before jogging upstairs and gently knocking on the bedroom door with no answer.

"Elias." She called for him with a stern voice and twisted the knob to the locked door. "Open the door. I made lunch and you're going to eat it. Not to mention I sleep here now too...you can't lock me out of my own room."

Silence, but the latch of the lock clicked and she opened the door. It was dark inside because the curtains were drawn and the lights were off, so Chise needed a moment for her eyes to adjust. Through her blurred vision she saw her husband take form in the chair and flip his fabric over his face.

"Are you really sulking right now?" Chise opened the door wider to let in more light and get a better look at him.

"I'm not sulking. I'm thinking," Elias sank down into the chair, legs spread and elbows propped on either armrests with his hands under his chin. Chise stared at him with her arms folded on her chest.

She couldn't help but feel a little guilty for this. Honestly, it was pretty pitiful. Yes, she'd forgotten to tell him, but she'd made sure to consult him for every other instance thus far, not to mention he always seemed to have other plans for himself. How could she know he wanted to do something if he didn't tell her? If anything this was equally his fault as it was hers, but this wasn't an appropriate response, regardless of who's fault it was. This was a simple misunderstanding, that's all.

Still, his demeanor reminded her of a child who was just told he was too short for a roller coaster. Hope crushed.

"It looks like you're sulking to me," she said, reaching a hand out and softly patting his covered skull, between where his eyes were. "It's okay to feel upset, but you can't do this, Elias." She looked at him in worry, and wondered if he could see her sincerity, or if he was looking at her at all. "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you. Would you like to come down and eat the lunch I made you? Maybe you could help me with my morning chores? I still have to do those while I wait for Alice." She provided him options as she rested her hand on his head.

In response, Elias moved a hand towards hers and stopped it just before he could grasp her and pull her to him - which was all he wanted to do. Remembering the last time he'd clung to what was his, the Magus clenched his fist and sat it in his lap. She wouldn't like that very much. Acting in the best interests of someone's wants rather than just their needs was almost as hard as communicating effectively with that person about your own wants.

A lot of these issues seemed to arise after the fact and Elias didn't know if this problem was unique to them or if others went through similar troubles. Still, he had to battle this thing called jealousy inside him. Chise had told him as much. It wasn't to be thrown at others.

"I'd like to be alone. Do as you wish today but do not go back into the forest and be home before dark," he paused, "please."

Chise considered his words, "actually we were just going to stay here. She's bringing her laptop over and-" he stood up as she was speaking and walked out into the hall; she was not making this easy. "Excuse me, I was talking to you!" she hurried after him.

"I told you I'd like to be alone," he stopped to look at her briefly, once again resisting the urge to hold his wife tight and not let go, before starting towards the stairs. He was also getting a bit tired of repeating himself.

Chise grabbed his left arm with her left hand and by the strength of the dragon's curse alone she pulled him backwards to her, almost knocking him off balance. "You don't get to do this, Elias. You can't just walk away from everything bothering you, you know!"

Elias didn't know how to react. He desperately wanted to be alone but as much as he didn't want to face the truth - Chise was right. But this was about more than who was right or wrong, he didn't want to do this until he had a good idea of what he wanted to say and do going forward and she was not making this easy. Instead of saying anything, he gently took her wrist and pulled her hand off of his arm, turned, and hurried down the stairs and out the front door.

Chise's stomach twisted as she watched the only person who'd ever called her family and gave her a home walk away from her. She knew he wasn't leaving her, not after all they'd been through, but it still made the little voice in the back of her head whisper things to her she did not wish to hear. He'd go out, sulk and pout for a few hours and be back before dinner like he'd done a few times in the past - when he refused to take her feelings into account, only thinking about himself and what he wanted. She skipped down the stairs after him and stopped looking at the two plates of food she'd prepared for them, food that would go to waste because he wanted to behave like a toddler instead of talking this through like the adult he tried so hard to be. Silky and Ruth watched the two nervously from the living room doorway.

"Elias Ainsworth!" She raised her voice and he slowed but didn't stop. A million things raced through her mind to say to him but she chose to let him leave in silence as she sneered at him. She had half a mind to slam the door behind him when she spotted two familiar figures down the lane: Mikhail and Alice. They stopped to speak with Elias who simply walked straight passed them as if they weren't there.

"What's his problem?" Alice asked when the two finally reached Chise who was waiting for them wearing a face of disappointment and frustration.

"Don't worry about it," the redhead reassured her. "He's just in one of his moods." She quickly changed the subject. "You're early! Mr. Renfred, good to see you. I didn't expect you would come along today." Chise brushed off the negative feelings weighing her down and feigned a smile, inviting the two in.

"I actually needed to talk to Elias and I figured I would take this opportunity to do so in person - since he keeps putting off my messages."

Chise frowned. "I'm sorry. If he ever won't answer please just let me know and I'll make sure he at least acknowledges you. We're working on his...um..." she searched for the correct term, "interpersonal skills." To that, Mikhail let out a laugh of disbelief.

"Good luck with that!"

Chise smiled politely and stared at the pair, not sure where to take things from here.

"Oh! Would you guys like some lunch?"

She sat the two down and fed them her and Elias' plates of food that had been sitting there waiting and they quickly finished it. Having left town early and not stopping to eat on the way over, they were famished. Chise and Alice went over their afternoon plans with each other which mainly consisted of browsing YouTube. Yesterday they had come across a series called 'Marble Hornets' that Alice wanted to watch more of. Chise was certain it was a horror series and stated if things got too scary she was done with it. To that, Alice laughed and asked her how she could be scared of an imaginary monster when she lived in a world of actual monsters that didn't make her so much as blink. While her blonde friend had a point, jump-scares and ghost stories still bothered her. So she promised if it got too spooky or in-your-face they would find something else to watch.

After they ate and Chise assured them she'd already eaten (she'd actually just lost her appetite completely, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them), she excused herself to feed the chickens and finish her morning chores she hadn't gotten to yet.

"I'll help you," Alice stacked their plates and started to take them to the sink when Silky nudged her away and insisted on cleaning up.

"I guess I'll go find Ainsworth," Mikhail sighed, standing to straighten his shirt and collecting the number of clasp envelopes he'd been carrying. "He can't have gone too far, right?"

"Who knows," Chise slipped on her shoes and pulled a paper off the cork-board, reviewing either side. They were the lists of her chores she needed to complete today to keep up with her schedule. So far, there were no orders due this week but a handful were being picked up next week and she still needed to collect a majority of those materials. "I stopped following him quite some time ago. Don't go too far though, there's..." Chise leaned down and peered outside the window next to the desk, looking out into the wooded lands that surrounded their estate. "There's these things out there right now," a stark realization hit her. Elias had gone out there by himself with those things probably watching and following him.

She set the paper down and ran her thumb and forefinger on the ring that fit snug on her left ring finger. She was connected to him, nothing was wrong, and he was more than capable of caring for himself, so why did the thought of his possibly being hurt scare her so? Trying to shake her uneasiness she picked the paper back up and turned to Mikhail who looked just as concerned as she felt.

He set his own forms down and flipped through some papers before handing her one of his own. On it was a rough sketch of the creature she'd seen before and a few other humanoid-type beings, including a photo of a woman with short black hair on one side of her head and the other size shaved and covered in what looked like some kind of tattoo. She was pale and had small red lips to match her red eyes. In the photo she was standing outside of a building in some city smoking a cigarette, wearing ripped jeans, big black combat style boots and a thick puffer coat under her even thicker scarf hanging from her neck. Scrawled under her picture - "Ida Laureate - 274 years - F - Origin: Canada - Gen: 2"

"Judging from your reaction you've met her?" Mikhail leaned his body down to be more level with her short stature and tilted his head. "Our North American chapter has been watching her for some time, when they said she was on her way to England, we didn't believe them at first."

"Oh my God," Alice stepped up behind them. Chise felt her body grow cold, this was turning out to be much more serious than she'd assumed. "Chise, you look like you've seen a ghost. Are they out there right now? Did you talk to her?"

Chise shook her head. "No, I - I didn't exactly meet this woman. This," she pointed to the sketch, "I met this...thing. He was following us this morning, and I - " she stopped herself. I would have led him right here had Elias not been with me. "He said he wanted my power, just a little, to get his eyes back. Whatever that means."

"Hmm," Mikhail replaced the form and clasped the envelope before straightening back up and making his way to the door. "Chances are he wants to use you as a gift for the Mother. How annoying." The sorcerer reached under his jacket and unholstered his pistol, checked the rounds and returned it. It wasn't much, but it would do. "You know how long it's been since we've had these types of vampires around here? The last were driven out maybe 50 years ago."

The mageling lowered her gaze; yet another problem she was causing everyone.

"You two stay here," he said, opening the front door and stepping out. "This shouldn't take long."

"Master!" Alice hurried to his side.

"I don't think so," Mikhail said, shaking his head. "I told you, you have to be careful even talking to these things. I'm not even sure if she's here, so I'm just going out to look find that magus if anything. You girls stay here and do what you planned to do." Before either of them could get a word in edgewise, he quickly stepped out and closed the door behind him.

"Ruth!" Chise turned behind her to see her familiar in his human form reaching for the door.

"I'm on it," he said, trailing behind Mikhail who quickly disappeared into the thick of the brush.

As badly as Chise wanted to follow them, something inside told her to stay behind. Whether it was the guilt for causing yet another problem, the fear of confronting Elias under these circumstances or just her intuition she did not know, but her ring gave her peace of mind and her familiar gave her a second set of eyes where she could not be. It isn't like she could offer any help if she wanted to. The charm she still wore prevented any magic from being used in strenuous circumstances and she was still working on controlling her responses. If anything she'd be a burden.

"Why do I feel like we should be following them?" Alice asked her when they made their way out to the chickens, dropping feed here and there as they clucked and wobbled around their feet.

"Funny you say that, I was just thinking sticking around might be a better idea," Chise chuckled.

"I hate when he does this to me. I'm supposed to be the one protecting him. How can I protect him if I'm here and he's out doing who knows what? If he got hurt...or worse...how would I even know?"

Chise shrugged. "I have a feeling he won't find what he's looking for," she handed Alice a small basket and reached into the chicken coop, dropping eggs she pulled out into said basket as she spoke. "That thing didn't seem to want to mess with Elias, and wanted me over anything. Seems like everything is out to get me... " She mumbled as she pulled herself out. The coop looked like it could use another helping of pine shavings. She made a mental note to make a physical note to get some more next time they went into town.

The two continued talking through the rest of her chores. The subject changed to a dream Alice had last night - where she was locked in a room filled with snakes. She wasn't afraid, and stood in the center letting the snakes crawl up her body slowly and pull her down until she was swallowed by the pool of serpents.

"It was almost like I wanted to become a snake," said the blonde as they came upon the edge of the forest behind the house. "Have you ever had a dream like that? I wonder what it meant."

"Not really," Chise responded, looking at the thick grasses and flowers that grew around the edge of the wood. "We're looking for Lady's Mantle and Elder flowers," she continued. "I read in our dream dictionary snakes can be about a lot of things, it just depends on how you felt about them. Dreams are ways our minds sort out our feelings and events of the day, but the symbolism does have meaning. It's all in how you look at it though."

"Well I don't think I want to become a snake for real," Alice thought aloud. "So it must be symbolic."

The two collected the plants with ease and went down Chise's list of items she needed from the wild, thing they didn't usually need an abundance of to justify growing on their own and things that grew in excess around them. At the bottom of her list were a few different types of mushrooms and 'd need to work their way into the forest for those.

Alice wiped the sweat from her brow and caught her breath when Chise told her they still weren't done.

"You do this...everyday?"

Chise nodded. "I do, but it's usually not this heavy of a workload. I'm sorry, Alice. I can do the rest later. Do you want to take a break?"

Alice turned from her friend and gazed into the darkened forest. Something wasn't right. Chise felt it too.

Chise. Ruth spoke to her directly with urgency. We found the vampire. The one with no eyes.

And Elias? The mageling held her breath waiting on more information.

He's not here, but we're coming back for you. Can you manage to put a ward up until we get there? Chise frowned. She knew about wards but had never even tried to make one before. She could sure try.

"What's wrong?" Alice turned back to her, oblivious of the conversation going on inside Chise's head.

I don't - maybe. Why?

The Mother is coming for you.

Unfortunately, Ruth's warning came in far too late. Chise was already looking upon the woman she'd seen in the photos, standing before them in the shade of the forest, her eyes glowing an ominous red and a devious smile plastered on her face.


	5. Extrasensory Perceptions Pt 2

Elias laid at the edge of the river in his quadruped form, his thick scaled tail curled around him and his head resting on his front paws. He set himself at the top of the river bank which sat rather high above the rushing water below with his still-veiled head at the very edge. In the past, he'd steal away to his room or his study and sort through his thoughts for however long it took, but these days that wasn't an option. Not since most of his belongings were now shared with his wife - something he knew would happen but didn't fully comprehend until he lived through it. Chise wanted to sleep with him, so he couldn't lock her out of their room. Chise took over somewhat of an ownership over the library, so he couldn't find solitude there. Chise didn't like when he locked her out of his study, just as he didn't like when she locked him out of hers, so that was out of the question.

For the first time in his life he was expected to take responsibility over his emotions which he found were growing exponentially as the days went on and it was getting increasingly more difficult to sort through them when he had Chise's happiness to think about. Not to mention on top of his own internal battles, he had to help guide Chise through her own. When he'd decided to take her on as an apprentice he knew she would be powerful, but he didn't exactly foresee her becoming this powerful. It slightly frightened him what she was capable of, both as a mage and as his wife. But he was dedicated to raising his human and would do whatever necessary to keep her safe and happy while helping her grow into a leader in the next generation of mages.

Whether he was correcting her as she required here and there, teaching her magic, or seeing that she was happy and comfortable as his wife, he was doing it out of love - one of the most complicated feelings he's ever identified. He still wasn't even sure what it truly meant in practice, but he was thankful he had Chise to help guide him through his own journey, even if it meant a misunderstanding here or there. He was told several times by numerous people butting in that this was normal as long as they worked things out.

It was the working things out that was the hard part.

As he watched the water rush over the rocks below and the sparkle of the fish darting back and forth between themselves, picking here and there at bugs or worms, he went over several solutions in his mind. His first order of business was to apologize for running off. In hindsight, that was quite childish. He needed to lead by example - how could he expect her to control her sometimes childish behaviors when he did things like this? Any time before this he wouldn't have even considered what he may be acting like or whether it was the correct thing to do, he used to have the freedom of emotions to do as he pleased, but now...

Of course, he wouldn't have had to do any of this if she'd just told him in the first place. His mood soured again. She made an honest mistake but this made him ache. Like the times she left in the past and he felt the coldness she left behind, he now felt this even when she was around. As if her mind wanted her body to be elsewhere. Whenever she spent time on the phone or had a friend over, he overwhelmingly missed her. That is, a few days he could do, but two weeks? How long was this going to last? Perhaps he needed to take her on another 'date'. Yes, that would be his second order of business.

As he thought on this he felt the unmistakable tingling sensation on his front left paw - his hand, the ring. Something was wrong with Chise. He stood quickly and raced back home as fast as he could.

* * *

"Let her go!" Chise shouted at the woman, Ida, who was holding Alice in a head-lock in front of her. Alice's eyes were big and sweat streamed down her face as she tried with all her might to pull the woman off her, but she wasn't strong enough. This woman, while a pale and skinny looking being, was surprisingly solid. Her arms were like cement and not only did their shear power hold her back, but so did the razor sharp metal claws she wore on her fingertips, which she held to Alice's neck. The rest of the woman's body was barely covered, much different from the photo she had seen earlier. Her large breasts were bare and the small, black cloth she wore on her waist was outfitted with a belt that tied to her right thigh, various pockets and bags hanging from it.

Chise felt sick seeing her friend in this position, one nick at the neck and her friend was done for. If Chise were there she may have a chance of survival, but Alice wasn't a mage nor a sleigh beggy riddled with curses holding her in a limbo between life and death. This was dangerous. She felt ashamed she didn't feel this coming. Their guards had been down and she took Alice when both their backs were turned. If she'd only been more aware...

"Just hear me out," she said, her voice deep and raspy with a wheeze behind it. "My child did good locating you. Did you know your honeyed aroma saturates this land? It's no wonder he found you so quickly." She smiled and two fangs slipped out beneath her teeth. Chise shivvered and watched helplessly. "My name is Ida. It is a pleasure to meet you, Chise."

'You must not talk to it, make a deal with it, or offer help in any way.' Elias words echoed in her head. So much for that…

"Let me feed on you," Ida continued. "I can give you whatever your heart desires. It won't hurt," she stroked Alice's cheek with the back of her free hand. "You could bring your friend, too." She leaned her head over and withdraw a long, black tongue, running it up Alice's neck to her ear leaving a trail of thick saliva behind. "She isn't as delicious as you would be, but we can work something out."

"Fuck you," Alice managed to spit as she wiggled and kicked in the mother vampire's grasp. "Don't listen to her, Chise!"

Chise clutched her chest as she watched her friend desperately try to fight an escape from this demon threatening her life. "You're out of luck," she said with a small voice, pushing away her fears momentarily. Maybe if she reasoned with this woman she would leave. "I cannot help, even if I wanted to…" She swallowed and looked her in the eyes. "I am bound by several curses, I am bound by charms, I am weak…" She trailed off, summarizing her flaws. Ida cackled.

"You think I cannot see that, child!?" She pulled Alice with her as she stepped towards Chise. "I can make that all go away. If you become one of us, become a Mother, my Sister, an undead - there isn't anything you couldn't do. Curses cannot follow you passed death. And the power you could provide our family, to the Father, you could lead us to a renewed life, a fresh lineage. We could start again. We used to rule this land, once, you know. We can do it again. You can have the power you want and an army at your beck and call. You can have the support of Sisters, the guidance of Father, any man your heart desires, riches beyond comprehension. What do you say?" The mother still wore a smile and hissed as she finished her proposal. It was rare anyone refused just one of these perks, but all of them...she hoped she would be in agreement. It would be a shame to get so messy if she refused.

Chise listened to her and couldn't pull her eyes away from the woman's. They were almost hypnotising and while she didn't care about the power or riches, a particular promise from this woman stuck out to her: the curses could not follow her to death. Maybe this was her way out? But if she were undead, would she still be a mage? Could her life be the same? Was this...yes, this was too good to be true. A trick.

"I already have all those things, a family-" the redhead spoke, her voice shaking. She pictured each person in her life and all of her experiences leading her to this point, even the bad ones lead her to this spirited away life. They all opened a world of magic and splendor to her she'd never known, and she had no desire to end any of it, or restart anything, especially as undead and whatever came with that. She knew she loved living. She loved this world. There was so much more to do and see. "I have the support of a sisterhood, the protection of a brother, the guidance of a father, the care of a mother…" Chise swallowed her nerves and continued. "I have the only man my heart could desire, wealth means nothing to me, and my curses are a part of me. There is nothing you can offer me I would want." Ida's expression grew into one of annoyance and a hint of disappointment. Her brows furrowed and her lips pursed into a frown. Chise shortened the length between them in a few steps and narrowed her eyes at the vampire. "Even if you did, I wouldn't help anyone like you."

With her cursed arm, Chise threw a punch at the woman and made contact with the side of her head, sending Ida flying and Alice out of her arms. A bright light shone from her eyes like two beacons in the dark, despite the mid-afternoon sun beaming down on them. Adrenaline pumped through Chise's veins and she could feel the power welling up inside of her core, pulsing through her extremities. They both rolled to the ground several feet away.

Seeing this as her chance, Alice sprung to action and climbed on top of the woman, sinking several of her own punches into her as the demon let out a pained, breathless whine, struggling to regain her composure. In a flash she overcame Alice and the two scuffled in the dirt as Chise dropped to her knees, exhausted. When her magic become overwhelming, it was blocked and absorbed by the charm she wore on her ankle. This process stopped her buildup of power but also left her feeling drained. She couldn't wait to get this damn thing removed.

"Alice!"

"Chise!"

Voices boomed from behind them and Chise whipped her head around to see Ruth and Mikhail running towards them. Ruth jumped to her side and Mikhail cocked his gun, pointing it at the two women rolling in the dirt. At this point, Alice was more dodging the mother vampire and her claws. Ida was knocked silly but she was still stronger, Alice wouldn't let her get the better of her again though.

"Ruth!" Chise called for Ruth and he pounced on the mother vampire, his strong jaws locking around her arm. Alice kicked her to her back. Ida sank her claws into Ruth's neck and threw him off her, hissing as black blood shot out of her arm which was now nearly torn off the bone. She rolled herself on top of Alice and screamed in pain, grasping to Alice's neck and tightening to bear the injury. Her claws dug into the back and side of her neck, puncturing slightly as a result. The blonde gritted her teeth and growled, pushing at the vampire to get her away.

Mikhail stood still in anger, his gun drawn mere feet from them but he couldn't get a clear shot as they were moving too much. "Alice!" He shouted at her, his voice strained and coated in worry. "Pull back!"

"Argh! I can't!" Alice tried scrambling away but the demon wouldn't let her leave. Not yet. This was her only bargaining chip, she couldn't let her go.

A loud pop rang through the land as Mikhail fired his weapon. Not at the women on the ground, but at the creature who had come flying at them from the shadows, the eyeless beast who had found Chise earlier. The bullet embedded deep between his missing eyes and his body fell to the ground with a thud. This drove the mother vampire further into a rage and she screamed a blood curdling scream as she fought to hold on to the blonde sorcerer's apprentice.

Meanwhile, Chise was fighting her own battle, knelt over and clutching her neck, blood spilling from the back of her throat. She struggled next to Ruth who had fallen to his side and was trying to pull up and attack again. Unfortunately, Ida had struck a vital vein and he was bleeding profusely. Chise pushed through the pain and put pressure on his neck, holding off on the bleeding, she needed to act now or she would soon lose consciousness. When she let go to pull her shirt off for a makeshift bandage, more blood spilled out sending her vision dark and blurry, her arms and legs went cold.

"Mr. Renfred, please," she coughed, laying her hands on her familiar once more. Mikhail hesitated before holstering his gun and running to Chise's side, kneeling next to her and her Grim. "Hold him here, please, this will only take a second." The mageling took his arm and put it to the blood spurting from Ruth's neck, calming the flow once more as Chise summoned her wand. Mustering what strength she could, she held it to the wound and with a shaking voice she whispered a prayer - no, a plea, of healing. Wisps of blue sparked at the end of her wand and all but sizzled.

The mageling gasped at the response and resisted the urge to melt and sob at her failure. She wasn't calm enough. This stupid charm was going to kill her because it was stopping her from doing what she needed to do to save herself. She pushed those thoughts away when she heard her Ruth whimper, even over the shouts of the two women scrapping, and vowed to do what she needed to do to save him. This was not where they ended.

The took a deep breath and held it, counting to five before slowly exhaling. Already she could feel her nerves settling. She grounded herself in breathing in more and focused on what she needed to do instead of what emotions were coursing through her. She tried again.

Wisps of blue formed at the end of her wand once more and grew as she chanted, her voice steadying and a calmness sweeping over her. She could feel the magic pulling from inside her and drawing from around her, traveling into her hand and through her wand, like a cool mist. When she finished, Mikhail pulled his hand back and blood still trickled but the wound had been successfully closed. It would do for now.

With tired eyes, Chise turned to the vampire who had her back to her and was on her knees, sitting atop her friend. Her arm hung at her side and dangled as she pushed against Alice who was struggling under her weight. With one hand, Chise stretched her wand towards the mother vampire and shot out a bolt that send a thunder into the land, echoing against the trees of the forest, and creating an eerie silence in its wake.

The bolt hit Ida and instantly paralyzed her body which dropped onto Alice. Mikhail rushed to pull her out and away from the demon while they had the chance. Chise, completely focused on this woman, dropped her wand and approached the vampire who was already coming out of the paralysis and trying to crawl away. The vampire had decided, suddenly, perhaps this wasn't the greatest of ideas. Now all she wanted to do was get out of this alive.

Chise took her booted foot and pushed the woman to her back before methodically placing her legs on either side of her and kneeling, putting both hands to her neck and pressing down on her windpipe with her thumbs while digging her nails into the sides of her neck. She took the anger and fear that were controlling her earlier wrapped her arms in the excess energy. With one goal in her mind she cooly strangled the monster that wanted to take everything from her, the woman who knew nothing about her but offered her world of lies, the demon who nearly killed her best friend and her familiar. With a blank face, she let these thoughts of hatred draw out of her and waited patiently for the life - if you could call it that - to leave her eyes.

Just as she saw what she wanted, the spark drifting from this monster, her vision went black as a gloved hand covered her eyes just as it had done earlier that day and many times before. Elias had arrived far too late, stepping out of the forest just as Chise kicked the woman over. He surveyed the situation and watched his wife climb atop the vampire with the intent of killing her. She sat on her chest and choked her with her bare hands, much in the same way she had described her mother doing to her.

Elias assumed his normal form and acted quickly, covering her eyes, shielding her from the harsh realities of this life he brought her into. Killing wasn't new to him, nor was death to Chise, but to strangle the life out of someone with your own bare hands...the Magus didn't want to taint her with that just yet. She wasn't ready.

"Elias?" She was surprised and let go of her victim, placing both her hands over his.

He wrapped his other arm around her midsection and pulled her to him, away from the vampire who lay gasping on the grass. With a hand still over her eyes, he placed the side of her head against his chest and covered her exposed ear with his free hand and cloak, covering her completely and holding her tightly to him as Mikhail fired at Ida's head thrice. Blood, brains and bone fragments splattering over Elias.

"Once would have sufficed," Elias said to Mikhail as he stood up and carried Chise over to where Alice was tending to Ruth.

"And where the fuck were you?" Mikhail cursed, holstering his weapon and followed. Elias retorted to the effect of 'none of your business' and the two began to argue. Chise rubbed her eyes, now free to look about and took in the damage this fight had done to all of them. Her gaze fell on the torn remains of what was a mother vampire and averted her eyes. Did that...did that just happen? She looked to Ruth who was still laying on his side next to Alice. She squirmed in Elias' arms and he set her down, taking the hint, so she could hurry to Ruth's side and check on him while Mikhail and Elias went back and forth.

Thankfully, he was doing well and alert. Alice had attended to him well, taking no concern to her own damage. To her she only had a few cuts, but her face was badly banged up and already swelling where she'd been punched and cut. Chise observed her carefully.

"I don't think you'll need stitches but we should really clean that up as soon as possible," Chise embraced her friend gently, careful to not hurt her any further. "I'm sorry, Alice, this is all my fault."

The blonde smiled through bloodied, swollen lips and shrugged, "Hey, I'll be okay, it's been a good while since I got to put the smack-down on someone." She went to stand and Chise stopped her with a frown. She perhaps underestimated the severity of her injuries.

"Don't get up yet," she said, turning to Ruth. "Ruth, are you okay?" She saw his tail flick ever-so-slightly and he pushed himself up, stretching out his limbs.

"I'll be okay, I'm so-"

"No, no apologizing," she patted the top of his head. "You did well, thank you."

"Alice, can you walk?" Elias asked her, breaking away from his conversation with Mikhail.

"Huh? Um.." She tried to get up again, holding onto Chise's to steady herself. "I think I can."

"Ruth?" The black dog pulled himself up and nodded.

Together they made their way back to the house, leaving the body where it lie next to the forest. Chise was worried about regeneration and Mikhail reassured her that vampire was dead and not going anywhere. But, to calm her fears, he agreed to call the college who dispatched a team to collect her and to search for the bodies of her 'minions' however many there may have been. They knew one for sure they had killed the one, but there was no telling how many she had brought with her.

"So they're dead too?" Chise asked after Mikhail ended his phone call and they settled in the living room. Her stomach growled in response to her question, and Alice and Mikhail stared at her.

"I knew that was your lunch you gave us," said Alice, who was set up at the desk with an array of first aid bandages, antiseptics and salves, Mikhail tending to her wounds against her insistence on her doing it herself. Chise blushed shyly where she sat on the coffee table, facing her friends.

"Chise." Elias called for her attention.

"Well, I wasn't hungry anymore," she smiled nervously Alice and Mikhail's glares of impatience. "And you were, plus it's rude to eat in front of guests, and...and…" Chise crossed her arms and pouted towards Elias, who was sitting in his chair leaning forward at her, elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped together. "And you know exactly why I didn't eat lunch so don't even give me that look."

The pair at the table stopped what they were doing and both stared at the couple, their mouths agape. Even Ruth popped his head up from the floor and watched them, curiously.

Elias looked at her for a moment before sighing and standing with an outstretched hand towards her. "Would you like to talk in the kitchen with me, alone, please?"

"I'd love to," Chise said dryly, taking his hand and following him across the hall and into the kitchen.

Alice and Mikhail looked at each other as hushed but harsh whispers emitted from the kitchen for more than a couple of minutes, followed by the sounds of a chair being drug across the floor and sat down rather forcefully, then the clanking of dishes.

Not soon after, Silky appeared before them with a tray of tea and scones. Alice cleared the table and together they had afternoon tea, alone, in the living room of the Ainsworth residence. It was only slightly awkward until Mikhail broke the silence.

"How mad do you think he's going to be when I tell him that was just the first issue we needed help with?"

"I don't know," Alice responded, "but if I were you I'd probably consider them denied." She took a bite of her second scone. "Today, anyways."

"Did she tell you what all that was about?" he asked, sipping his tea. He was more of a coffee person, but it would be rude to refuse a brownie's service.

"Nope," she shook her head, eyeing. "We probably shouldn't pry, either"

"I'm not gonna pry," he retorted. "Just curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Master, you know that."

"Yeah, yeah," Mikail shrugged.

"They're acting more like an old married couple than anything. That happened pretty fast, don't you think?" He snickered at that. "What?!" she laughed in response, quickly realizing what he was laughing at. "Hey, don't even go there, I like to think I'm doing better!"

"So what you're saying is, when we go home your dirty clothes will be neatly put in the laundry hamper?"

"Eh-" Alice darted her eyes away from his.

"Mhmm, just what I thought." Just then, Chise briskly entered the room with a newfound pep in her step, wearing a shy smile.

"Chise, everything okay?" Alice asked her.

"Yup," Chise nodded. "Just had a bite to eat. Are you doing okay, though? I feel really, really bad about this. I-"

"Hey, stop. I'm fine. In fact, I've been through much worse," she smiled, reassuringly. "What about you? That had to have taken a lot out of you."

Chise shrugged. "I feel fine, really."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Hmmm," Alice hummed and looked her over. She'd never seen that type of magic being used in person before but it had to have drained her friend. Chise wasn't very forthcoming with how she felt most of the time. She looked at her green eyes which were bright and awake. Her posture was relaxed and she had a cheery mood about her even though all that had just transpired. Her friend was definitely a fighter.

Alice looked to her Master who checked his watch. "Ainsworth and I should be cleaning up that body for the team. He didn't help take it down he can at least help clean it up...I hope you guys have big enough bags." He heard a heavy sigh behind him, ignored it and gave attention to the envelopes sitting at his side. He pulled out two papers and handed one to Chise and one to Alice, who responded with confusion. "Statements. Better to get them out of the way now."

* * *

Elias and Mikhail worked silently picking up the body of the woman who attacked their apprentices and her beastly minion. As predicted, they was still where they had been left, untouched. Not even flies bothered with their dead-undead remains, but the heat of the afternoon combined with the dead flesh brought a sickening stench to the air. For Mikhail, at least. He worked with his shirt covering his nose and mouth as best he could, though it was proving difficult with only one arm.

As Elias finished tying the last of the bags, Mikhail cleared his throat and announced his reasons for coming out today - that this wasn't the only business the college needed assistance on. The Magus ignored him and handed him a bag to carry back. It was grim work, and he wasn't sure he cared for rotting corpses sitting at his house either - okay, he wasn't sure Chise would care for it, but he was assured a team would be arriving within the hour.

"What need does the college have for this, again? I don't believe you even told me," Elias asked the sorcerer.

"We believe this isn't the only one in England," he explained. "Or, I should say, our sources believe."

"Hmm," Elias hummed, "and what do you hope to accomplish with the bodies?"

"To learn more about them, their weaknesses, how exactly the curse works, maybe use as bait to draw more in. From what Ida said, we know she wanted Chise, but the intentions of the others allegedly here are unknown. We have sightings in London, Leeds, and Bristol, and a possible attack in Manchester, but nothing has been proven yet. Ideally they wanted to keep her alive for questioning but it's easier to say you're sorry than to be told no, isn't it?"

The Magus responded in silence, holding on to that last sentence. It's easier to say you're sorry than to be told no.

"So, while we have this to work on there's no telling what is going to occur in the meantime. We'd like for you to just investigate and report back seeing as how this is more...your territory.  
More silence as they approached the rear of the house and dropped the bags with heavy thuds next to the rest of the garbage and compost.

"Your apprentice seems to have a handle on things to work around the fail-safe," he continued. "They'll be glad to know that, though technically you could have taken that off her when classes finished."

"I'm aware," Elias finally spoke. "We'll keep it a bit longer. It's helping her channel her energy more efficiently." He paused, thoughtfully, before delivering a warning. "If I ever find her in a situation like that again when she is with you-"

"That isn't fair, we told you what-"

"No, I don't want to hear excuses, I-"

Screams rang out from inside the house, echoing through the forest and sending a flock of birds into the air and away from the disturbance. The two men bolted into the house following the upset. When the reached the source, all the way upstairs in Chise's room, Silky and Ruth were already standing at the door, just as shocked as they were. Peering in, they found the source of the problem.

Chise was sat up, tightly curled, on her bed with a blanket wrapped around her body and hands covering her face. Alice was next to her, fallen to her back in laughter. Sitting in front of them was Alice's laptop, emitting various sounds of voices shouting.

"Elias!" Upon seeing him in the door, Chise jumped out of bed, pushed through Silky and Ruth and flung herself into his arms, grasping tightly to his waist.

"Chise?"

"I'm so sorry," Alice managed through intense laughter. "I didn't realize this would do that. But your face! Bahahaha!"

Elias sighed and rested a hand on his wife's head. Mikhail pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Ruth rolled his eyes and walked away while Silky stood next to Chise and rubbed her back soothingly. Embarrassed, Chise pulled herself together and stepped back to the bed, closing the laptop and handing it to Alice who was wiping away a tear.

"I'm done watching that. I'm going to have nightmares now, you know."

"You were watching scary videos?" Elias cocked a head and moved aside as Alice and Chise filed out of the room. "What could possibly scare someone who just thwarted a vampire?"

Alice erupted in laughter again.

"It's not funny!" Chise playfully raised a fist at Alice. "It looks like real recordings, okay?! And there's this really tall, really scary monster man in a suit and he follows you in the woods and at your house and all over and these people are being killed and...and…" She stopped as Mr. Renfred and Alice laughed over her, narrowing her eyes. "Okay, okay, very funny. I get it." She couldn't help but join in the laughter.

* * *

Shortly after, Elias excused himself to clean up as he was still rather soiled from their earlier activities. The group from the college collected the bodies and Alice and Mikhail said their goodbyes, promising Chise the next get-together would be much less eventful. Silently, Chise wondered why they could even think they had anything to do with this, as she was the reason for the attack in the first place. When they left her, she rested on the sofa, and leaned her head back, staring at the ceiling in deep thought. The house was anything from quiet, from the sound of the shower running, dinner being prepared in the kitchen, a load of laundry in the wash and Ruth gnawing on the bone Chise gave him for being such a good boy today, but Chise's mind pushed it all out pondering on what occurred during her very eventful day.

Did I really almost kill that...thing with my bare hands? She looked down at her hands and stared at her cursed one a second longer than her normal one. Leaning her head back up she sighed. She was going to have to talk to Elias about this. Maybe this slurry of curses inside her was twisting her morals. She hadn't felt anything controlling her, or any thoughts that were not her own, but thinking back on them, her actions scared her more than she realized. And the way he pulled her away from it, how he held her, what he said...did she scare him too?

On the topic of talking to Elias, she thought, she was also ready to have a long discussion with him about his mini temper tantrum today. She also wanted to apologize for being the cause of it, as well. Ugh, this was going to be an emotionally draining end to an already emotionally draining day.

"What's wrong?" Chise about jumped out of her skin in fright. In the midst of her thoughts, Elias had approached her from behind and leaned over, placing his skull next to her head and speaking to her suddenly, in a low, hushed voice.

"Elias! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Clutching her chest and speaking through gritted teeth, she felt her heart pounding in her chest.

"I'm sorry," he straightened and walked around the sofa to sit next to her, wearing a fresh dress shirt, vest and his usual pants. "I didn't realize you couldn't hear me. You seem troubled." His orbs searched her face in concern. "You aren't normally so skittish either, I assume your videos had something to do with that?"

Embarrassed, Chise looked away. That could be it. Elias also averted his eyes in the opposite direction.

"I'm sorry." They both spoke in unison, both opening their mouths to continue further when Silky entered the room and delivered their dinner, setting the plates and silverware on the table before sneaking away as quietly as she had come in.

"What are you sorry for?" Chise eyed him.

"Earlier today, running off," he listed the reasons weighing down his guilt. "For feeling...jealous, or perhaps angry. It wasn't fair, and for that I apologize. However,-"

"However," Chise finished his sentence. "I should have told you instead of springing it on you like that. Also, never apologize for your emotions. Emotions are real, they're normal, they're expected. You apologize for how you act on your emotions…" she quieted and took a plate, dishing out a few spoonful of peas, mashed potatoes and a slices of roast chicken, and handed it to Elias as she grabbed another plate for herself.

"I see…" He watched her as she spooned a few peas and a small dollop of potatoes on her plate. It wasn't that long ago she had eaten, after all. Who could have an appetite with this discussion looming over the atmosphere? She supposed Elias, as he happily put the potatoes into his mouth. Not wanting yet another lecture on the fragility of her body, she nibbled on her own helping. "I can't help but wonder, Chise, are you still okay here?"

"Huh? Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

Elias slightly narrowed his orbs as he recalled his thoughts from earlier in the day. "You seem to want to be away from here since classes have finished. Always doing something with friends. Sometimes it seems like you're not here, even when you are. And today, when you told me once again we could not spend time together, I felt jealous and lonely." He had no problem admitting this to her now, so why was it so hard to do earlier? "I wanted to hold on to what is mine and not let go but I couldn't, so I had to get away before I did something I regretted."

Oh, Elias. Chise thought back to that day when he held her down and would not let go until she threatened to hurt herself. He had acted like a child who had his favorite toy taken away and threw a tantrum as a result of her befriending Stella. Since then he seemed to have kept his newfound emotion in check, or so she thought. Then again, she hadn't exactly spent two weeks doing something with someone else every single day. "We spend all day together, though. How can you feel lonely? Maybe I got carried away, and there are days you go out and do things without me, but at the end of the day don't we go to sleep together? And then wake up the next morning, together?"

Elias shrugged. "Yes. You're right, but an appeal to logic isn't necessarily making this better. Emotions can be terribly powerful things… I...I apologize again for not telling you, maybe this all could have been avoided."

Chise looked at him intently. "No more running off. If I can't do it, neither can you."

"I can't promise that, if it's to protect you-"

"Just talk to me, okay? Before it even gets to that point. Let me be your human teacher. I can't teach you if you don't come to me with your questions, right?" She thought on her own questions sitting in the back of her mind and took a deep breath. "I wanted to ask you about that," she gathered the courage she needed to bring this up. "About the vampire..."

"You don't need to worry about that," he replied. "All that matters is that you are okay. This isn't a threat to be taken lightly, so I probably will be checking it out sooner rather than later. I don't intend on letting anything come of it. Just focus on your studies as usual. Once you master clairvoyance it will be easier to foresee this kind of thing...though, I have to say, Chise, you have a talent for protecting yourself. I didn't expect that level of controlled magic to come out of you for years. Decades, even."

"That's not exactly what I meant," she explained. "I mean, when I decided- er, when I knew what I had to do, I had no feelings about it while I was doing it. At first I was afraid, afraid she was going to kill my friend, afraid she had already killed Ruth, but once I pushed that away and focussed on only the magic, I couldn't feel, I-I…" Elias paused his meal and watched her struggle for the right words. "Even now, I can see myself doing it in my mind and I feel nothing. All the times in the past I had emotions powering me through, showing me the way but now...I can't help but wonder if I'm turning into something I'm not. If it is this curse...or if this is what it is like to become a mage-"

Elias took his plate and hers and sat them on the coffee table, out of the way. He shifted and turned his body towards hers, reaching under her arms and pulling her to him in a warm embrace. She sat on his lap, her legs straddling his and her head resting at the nape of his neck, one of his hands on her head the other setting on her back. He held her like that, firmly but with a warmth and softness that enveloped Chise and comforted her, quelling her thoughts and insecurities quickly. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

"You did what you had to do," he said, looking down at her. "You did exactly what you could have done, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. I am so proud of you."

A lump formed in her throat and she held herself there, arms wrapped around his neck, bathing in the unconditional love and acceptance he so freely showered her with. It was moments like these she wished would never end. But still, she had to know.

"But, why," she asked, "did you stop me?" Surely she had been doing something wrong, something undesirable, maybe he saw it, maybe he was hiding it from her.

"It was not your time," he said. "From when I first brought you home until now, you have grown exponentially, both as a human and as a mage. Yet, there is the part of you that is still clinging to a sense of innocence...or, perhaps-" Perhaps I am the one clinging to that innocence. "You may find yourself, in the future - hopefully the very distant future - having to do what you need to do. Having to choose one life over another, and when you do, you can never go back. You will have crossed into the next part of your journey in this life, and you are still so young...I…" He guided her down to sit on his lap and she looked into his eyes as he finished. "Just let me handle the killing, okay?" He nuzzled the side of her head and she smiled, slightly amused at nuzzling over talk of killing others.

"Okay," she took his hands into hers. "I think you're better at it than me, anyhow." To that he straight up laughed - if she only knew. "What?"

"Nothing," Elias dismissed the idea. "Now, onto other matters." She scooted off his lap and he handed her food to her, resuming his own meal. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

"Err, well, Simon asked me," Chise snickered as she saw her husband's body stiffen, anticipating her response she had also planned to do something with someone else. "I'm just kidding. No, nothing other than my chores and studying...and, whatever it is you have planned."

Elias smiled in the only way he could and and nodded. "Good. I'd like to treat you again."

She smiled back at him. "Simply being with you, like this, is treat enough."


	6. Love The World

It was quarter after one in the late night/early morning at the Ainsworth residence. All the lights in the house were off and all beings inside asleep, busy in their dreams. Outside, however, a pair of grey eyes shone through the woods and watched the house intently. They belonged to a young woman, roughly 17 years old, and were tired - no, utterly exhausted. Crouching on her knees, tears fell from her cheeks and sank into the ground below her, narrowly missing the sleeping child she had directly beneath her.

She swept her dark, chestnut hair to one side and wiped the liquid from her face, bending down and placing a kiss on the child's fuzz covered head. It stirred for a moment and settled back into its own dream. Clutching her hospital gown, she stood and carried the infant by the handle of the car-seat she had it nested in, the only bed she could afford for her only child.

One solemn step after another, she made her way to the front door of the large home situated deep in the English country, taking with her a small bag and leaving behind another. It was a big home and word around town was this was the place to go if you needed medicine. Surely, the doctor inside could properly care for her baby. It would do - it would have to do. In fact, she gathered, anywhere other than with her would be a better life for her child.

Her pale, thin frame stepped up to the porch and she carefully set the baby down in front of the door, not wanting to cause any sort of disturbance. She sat on the step below and watched her baby sleep for a moment more while her heart crushed inside. She covered her mouth and silently wept at the sight - the last she'd ever see of the being she carried for nine months, the one person she loved more than herself, that taught her what love was, that showed her there is good in the world. She wept and for a split second an urge to forget about this bloomed within but was quickly subdued and replaced with a need to get away as fast as possible, should the urge overtake once again, as it had dozens of times in the past.

She considered knocking on the door but a moment longer there was going to be a moment too long. So she stood and ran as fast as she could back to the clearing she was sitting in not long ago. She took the bag she had left behind and darted away, unseen.

* * *

A number of heavy knocks pulled Chise out of her dreams with a start. She sat up, gasping for air and looked to her husband who was still asleep next to her yet starting to stir as well. She rubbed an eye and jumped out of bed, quickly making her way around it and unlocking the door to open it. As soon as she did so, the house brownie grabbed her forearm and whisked her away, down the hall and to the stairs where Chise nearly fell. Silky steadied her and impatiently waited for the good lady of the house to trek down the stairs on her own - perhaps she was a little too excited but this was not a time to dawdle.

"Silky, what's wrong?" The Silver Lady simply pointed down the stairs and motioned her to hurry. She complied and shuffled down the stairs, holding to the railing and tightening her grip when she reached the bottom and saw what all the fuss was about. The front door was wide open, and outside on the porch was a car-seat, which looked like it…She hopped away from the stairs and got closer. Yes, it had a baby inside of it, her eyes were not deceiving her.

The air shifted behind her and she heard Elias slowly and groggily making his way down the stairs. She knelt to further inspect the infant on her doorstep. It was quite young, but definitely wasn't a newborn. It's eyes were tightly closed as it slept, bundled with several blankets and securely strapped into the seat. Next to it was a medium sized duffel bag with a folded piece of paper hanging outside the outer pocket. It was like something from a story or a movie, Chise didn't think this actually happened in real life.

She bit her bottom lip as she looked at the sleeping child and felt a ripping at her heart. Whoever left this baby here just abandoned it. How did they know people even lived here? What if some crazed maniac was here? What if all that was here were monsters and demons who would devour such a young and innocent soul? Did whoever left this baby here not know the dangers of the wilderness? The dangers of human nature? Did they simply not care?

Behind her, Elias stood in his pajamas watching the scene unfold, quietly wondering if perhaps he were dreaming. Unfortunately, he wasn't, and his insides twisted when his wife's face turned to meet his and she wore an expression of pure sadness. He knelt down next to her to get a better look at this strange creature taking up residence on his porch. He'd seen quite a few babies in his time and they never ceased to amaze him. They were strange little things, toothless, often hairless, they drooled, could not use a toilet, could not walk or talk or defend themselves and more often than not screamed and cried for everything. Not having any sort of family unit in the past himself, this was all unexplored territory and he used to try his best to avoid being around or dealing with infants completely. Now, it didn't look like he was going to have that option.

Chise extended an arm, swiftly pulled the paper out of the pocket of the bag and opened it for them both to read. It was handwritten in smeared ink on a dirty, wrinkled and slightly torn piece of paper, which was wet and contained droplets of what looked like blood.

His name is Apollo. He is 6 months old.

My battle with life had ended, but his is just beginning. Please help him. Tell him his mother loved him. Tell him she's sorry.

She lowered the paper and looked at the sleeping infant before her, and then to Elias who was also looking at the baby.

"What do we do?" she asked when his eyes finally met hers.

"We can take it to Simon, he would know what to do with it. His church is always running fundraisers for the child protection system," he stood and turned to walk away. "I'll get dressed and we can go."

"Elias!" Chise hissed and he stopped. "The sun hasn't even come up yet…" She stood, picking up the child's seat as she did so and brought it into the living room.

Ruth padded in with a yawn. "What's going on?" He inspected the strange new scents that filled the room and eyed the plastic contraption sitting on the sofa.

"Someone left him here," Chise responded, sadly. "Who does something like that?" Visions of her own parents flashed in her mind and she shut them down. Now was not the time to mourn her own lost childhood, she had to stop being so selfish. Ruth stood in the doorway and sniffed, following a trail.

"I'll be back," he said as he hopped off the step and sniffed the ground further. Something wasn't right. Chise hardly noticed him leave as her attention was focused solely on Apollo.

"Chise," Elias stood behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "This isn't any place for a human infant. We can wait until dawn, however, it needs to be with people who can care for it." The redhead pursed her lips and digested his words - he was right, of course, but he was so wrong at the same time. To be so young and thrown into the child protection system, they would be setting him up for failure.

"Is there no other way?" she asked, holding her breath. She reached a hand down and gentle stroked the baby's hair. He shook his head back and forth and yawned, opening his big brown eyes and setting his blurry vision on Chise. She smiled back at him as he reached for her hand, taking a finger in his tightly and looking around at his new surroundings - this was not where he had fallen asleep. "Hey, little guy," she whispered gently. He began to kick his blankets off of him and struggled against the straps holding him in. His bottom lip wrinkled and he began to cry out. He was stuck, and mommy wasn't there. He was in a new place with new people. This was scary. He wanted free. He wanted his mommy.

"There's no other way," Elias said, dryly, over the wailing that now filled his once quiet home. Chise wasted no time unhooking him and holding him to her chest, rocking him back and forth gently, shushing him softly, and patting his back. He quieted feeling her warmth, she was soft like mommy and held him nicely, but another feeling came to him that started the crying once more.

Chise opened her mouth to ask Elias to grab the duffel bag the mother left, maybe he needed a diaper change, maybe he was hungry….she remembered back to when she once cared for her baby brother so long ago. She stopped when she saw Silky rush in with a freshly made bottle of formula. In one motion she scooped the baby from Chise's arms and pacified it with the warm liquid. He drank graciously and abundantly and the brownie thoroughly enjoyed having a young one in the house again - after all, it seemed like it had been forever since she held a little one. Apollo reached up and took his bottle into his own hands and Silky cradled him, watching him drink with a sort of maternal air about her.

"Well, Silky looks like she has this handled pretty well," Chise thought aloud and turned to Elias who turned to step away.

"I'm going back to bed," he announced. "I will take it to the church first thing in the morning."

How can you sleep at a time like this!? Chise watched him walk away, uncaring. Was he really that cold or did he simply not understand how big of a deal this was?

"You guys," Ruth all but ran into the house, panting heavily from his run. "I found its mother."

* * *

Chise trailed closely behind Elias, holding onto his sleeve, as they ventured into the forest following Ruth. Silky was more than content sitting with the baby back at the house. Initially, Ruth had told Chise she might want to stay behind, based on the nature of what he had found, but she insisted and there was little Ruth or Elias could do to keep her from following them.

As they came upon her, the redhead looked at the woman - no, the teenager, with a slew of emotions welling up inside her. She was strung from a tree branch with a rope wrapped firmly around her neck, her purple head to the side. The rest of her body, loosely covered in an old hospital gown, swung back and forth ever-so-slightly. Chise was initially shocked at the sight. Yes, she'd seen the result of her mother flinging herself off of their balcony, but she hadn't been prepared to see what someone who had hung themselves looked like. It was cleaner, that's for sure. But this was surreal, almost like something she would have seen in a movie. The only difference was, in a movie the image was only shown briefly and it was a trick of film production. Now, the image was going nowhere and it was very real.

"She looks like she's my age…" she whispered. Elias looked down at her and searched her face, trying to pick apart what might be going through her mind. "Is there anything we can do?"

He shook his skull. "Unfortunately, no. She's already gone." He held himself from asking her how this made her feel. Perhaps this wasn't the time.

Chise stood there and watched her body sway, wondering what this girl's story was. What was so bad that she decided to abandon her son and take her own life? She remembered back to her mother and the struggle she saw her go through. She thought on how she let her go but still could not find it within herself to forgive her. Understand her plight maybe, but forgive her...She still harboured anger within her, not towards her mother, but over this act that was done that left her unwanted. That left her alone in a world where nobody would care for her, that would lead her to the edge of her own life. If she hadn't thought twice, she may have suffered the same fate as her mother, as this mother. But if she had a child? As a teen, could she have made it or would she have done the same? She didn't seem to have any answers for herself, but she started to maybe understand just what could bring someone to do what this girl had done. At least she didn't try to kill her own child. That she knew of, that is.

"Do you think the child has a father?" Elias wondered, breaking her thoughts.

"Of course it does," Chise replied. What kind of question is that? Does he not know how humans procreate? "Everyone has a mother and a father." So did she. A mother who was dead, and a father who was...gone. Alive or dead it didn't matter, he was still gone and still never returned like he had promised.

"Of course, I wonder if he did not abandon the child as well, or if she took the child from him. Surely there are birth records. If its family is out there, that is where it should go." Chise cast her view to the side and sighed.

"Don't you think if he had a father involved he would be with him, and not here?" Her voice began to shake. "Don't you think if he had family that cared, this girl would be with them, and not hanging from this tree? Don't you see it, Elias? This is what happens when you are unwanted. This is where you end up. This is…" Thoughts of her past flooded her mind, thoughts of her mother falling to her death, thoughts of her own view as she stood at the edge of the building and looked down to what might have been her fate. "We can't do it, Elias. Please, whatever we do we can't give him to the system. I've been there. I've been unwanted, passed around. I've had family take me in when they didn't want to and give me up when things got too bad. I've been to foster homes. They are horrible - nothing…nothing is your own, you're just a paycheck to them, they beat you, starve you, ignore you, once they get tired of you they just throw you away." Her sight of the girl was blocked by her Magus who stepped in front of her and pulled her close to him.

She continued, her head brushed up against his stomach, his hand kindly patting her head. "I don't know why this is so hard, but I don't want to be the reason for someone else to suffer like I did. What if he grows up like me? I used to lie awake at night wondering why I wasn't good enough. Why I couldn't have been her reason to keep going. Why every other child got to have their mom and dad and I got nothing. His mother already threw him away, I can't be the next person to do it. It wouldn't be right."

"You can't save everyone, Chise," he didn't know what else to say to her, and wasn't sure it would be all that comforting, but it had to be said. While it confused him, he admired her drive to help others, even when she asked nothing in return. It was not the way of mages, but it was her way. She frequently called herself selfish, but this alone could be proof enough that she is anything but. That being said, he still wasn't sure how to handle her getting so emotionally involved with her dealings and he was even more unsure he wanted her to stop. It was her essence, after all, and it also taught him valuable lessons on humanity.

"I know," she inhaled deeply, trying to shrug the weight of guilt off her shoulders and turning back towards their home. "Elias, what if…" They both trekked back home, Chise hesitated with the rest of her question but somehow managed to let it out. "What if we took the baby to Tir na nÓg?"

"Hmm," Elias hummed. That was an idea, it didn't quite work the way she probably thought it did, but then again, the fae held Chise in a high regard. But that would mean…"Are you sure that is something you would be willing to do? It would not grow up human. Eventually, it would change."

"The changelings have no problem with that," the redhead commented, her gaze casting down at the darkened ground beneath her. Now she was faced with two options: give the child to the proper human authorities and risk it living a life unwanted, or give it to the fae and strip it of its humanity. She shook her head, "but what right do I have to make that decision for him? I guess...I guess…"

The two found their way back home and were greeted by Silky who quietly opened the door for them, a finger over her lips, hushing them. When they crept into the house together, Apollo was asleep on the sofa, tucked snug into a blanket, the warm orange and yellow hues of the fire highlighting his chubby cheeks and button nose.

"Let's find Simon tomorrow," she whispered to Elias who kept his gaze on the infant. "Together."

* * *

"I'm so glad you brought him here," Simon cheerfully picked Apollo up and looked him over. "He looks like a healthy baby boy. The sisters will be beside themselves for a young one to look after while we wait for protection services." Apollo sat in his arms, blowing spit bubbles, slobber dripping off his chin and splattering over Simon.

"What's going to happen to him?" Chise asked quietly, reaching over to pat the child on his head. His hair was so soft and fuzzy.

"Well," Simon said, "the police will come and take down a report, and the protection agency will send out a case worker. They will try to ID the mother, and then search for any of her living family to send this little guy to. In the meantime, he'll go home with some excellent foster parents we have in our system. And if they find his family, and they want him, he will be returned. If not, the adoption process will start. Luckily babies go fast." He tapped Apollo on his nose and set him down on the floor of his office when he kicked and squirmed for the floor. The young one rolled to his stomach and scooted his hips forward and back, inching toward Elias who was seated a few feet away. The Magus shifted his body in the opposite direction, clearly uncomfortable. When Chise asked him to hold him this morning, he was reluctant but agreed and immediately regretted it as the baby proceeded to projectile vomit on him. Silky sprung into action and took the baby back, shaking her head at both of them - you don't just rustle a baby up like that after it has just eaten. It's okay, they didn't know.

"He won't bite, you know," Chise said with a small smile.

"He bit me and I have the mark to prove it," Elias slid up his sleeve and pointed to a teeny tiny little mark on his dark violet arm.

"Okay, well it won't hurt that bad if he bites," Chise giggled and Elias rolled his sleeve back down.

"Why does an infant need teeth that sharp?"

"I dunno," Chise crouched down to the floor in front of the baby and patted the carpet playfully. Apollo giggled and mimicked her.

Simon watched them with a warm smile before clearing his throat and standing. "I best let the sisters know, they'll be upset if I don't tell them quick enough," he chuckled and slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

The couple sat in silence together, watching the baby as he bobbed his head up and down and inched forward, exploring.

"What are you feeling right now, Chise?" Elias asked her quizzically.

"Huh?" His sudden question startled her. "Um, well...nervous, I guess. And sad. This morning was...hard. But this seems even harder."

"I was unaware something so small could scream that loud," Elias thought back to just a few hours ago when the child woke up. He was unhappy and nobody, not even Silky could console him. Chise looked at Apollo mournfully.

"He wanted his mom," her voice caught. "Did you see the terror in his eyes? He was scared to death. And no, before you say anything again, it was not because of you." He insisted the child was simply frightened of his appearance, but his theory was knocked when he put on his glamour and Apollo continued to scream, frantically searching the room, kicking and rolling away from anyone who tried to soothe him. "It's a good thing he won't remember…"

"You still remember your parents," he noted, innocently.

"Yeah I do, but he's just a baby. I was much older." Her brothers face came to her thoughts and she sighed. If he were out there somewhere, he definitely didn't remember her.

"Ah, I see."

The two sat in silence a moment longer.

"And what are you feeling? Anything?" Chise asked, truly curious. Elias raised his veiled head upward in thought.

"I suppose nervous would be the correct word," he explained. "You seem happy with it, and I know it's going to be hard for you to leave without it. I don't like to see you unhappy."

Well, he felt something at least. Still, his words touched her. But did she really seem happy with it? They'd only had the baby just a few hours, and it was mainly Silky doing everything.

The door creaked open and an older, round woman in a full habit joyfully entered the room, Simon close behind her. She scooped Apollo up and covered his face in kisses, cooing at him. Chise watched with a polite smile and felt her heart rate increase, it was getting to be that time .

"If you want to avoid being hassled by the police you both best be on now," Simon said kindly with a sympathetic smile. "I'll handle things with them, so no worries."

Elias nodded and stood, walking behind the nun who paid him no mind and waiting in the doorway for Chise. The sister lowered her arms so that Apollo was eye level with Chise.

"Thank you for bringing him here, love," she said. "You needn't worry, he has the blessed light of the Lord watching over him now. He will find only loving arms to set in, I promise ya'."

Chise's green eyes looked to the sister and back at Apollo. Her words were kind and she appreciated them as she placed a soft kiss on the baby's forehead and said goodbye, whispering words to him she knew he wouldn't remember, but needed to tell him.

Later, as the two walked home once again, Elias startled her with yet another sudden question.

"What was it you told him?"

"I...I told him it would be okay. I told him I would never forget him, and I hoped to see him some day in the future. And...I told him to love the world." Her pace slowed as she rubbed a tear out of her eye and he slowed to match her pace, a familiar twisting going on inside him. He knew this would happen but that did nothing to stop the upset within him when he finally saw her cry. She was fighting it, though, for what reason he did not know.

He opened his mouth to ask her but was cut short but a question of her own.

"Have you ever thought about having children?"

He eyed her and kept walking, letting her question sink in and spin around in his head. Had he? "Once before," he eventually answered. "The thought occurred to me."

"Oh," she looked up at him, his veil hiding his eyes, her only hint at the expressions he wore. "And?"

"What about you?"

"I asked you first."

"And I answered."

Grr . He knew what she meant. She thought her response carefully. "I haven't," she admitted. "Really, not until King Oberon asked us that one day. I never saw myself doing anything other than, frankly, dying until then so I hadn't thought of it. It's...scary to think about." A light blush crept upon her cheeks and down her neck.

"Why?" He questioned her quickly.

"I don't know, maybe because of how babies are made in the first place. The whole process - I, it seems like it would change you. And besides," Chise continued, "I'm still young, right? Thinking about having a baby when I have my whole life ahead of me, it's a scary thought. I think I would much rather think about my next magic lesson, instead."

"Hmm, that sounds like a good idea." He flipped his covering off his face as they neared their home and stopped when he saw Silky standing on the porch, patiently waiting for their baby-less return. "Oh, Chise, wait."

"Huh?"

"We forgot cream for the Silver Lady." The pair turned on their heels and quickly started the long walk back into town. How could they forget?


	7. Mother Nature

"Chise? I'm home," Elias stepped into the house, closing the door behind him and looking about for Chise. The sun was high outside but the house was still dark, closed up the way he had left it that morning. He dipped into the living room to find it void of any presence and likewise with the kitchen. All was quiet.

Heading back into the hall, he passed by the bathroom, peering in through the open door and finding it empty. How strange , he thought, proceeding to the back yard. Maybe she's working outside today.

Once outside, he found Silky shaking out a freshly washed sheet and stretching it over the line to dry, securing it with pins as he approached her.

"Silver, have you seen Chise this morning?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed a response, pointing to the second floor of their home.

"Has she been down at all?"

"Nnhnn," she shook her head, reaching down into the laundry basket and shaking out another sheet.

Even stranger. I wonder if she isn't feeling well. He thanked his brownie and hurried inside.

It wasn't often Chise stayed inside. By this time, she would have already taken care of the chores for the day and would have likely been in the kitchen making lunch or talking to Ruth and Silky while Silky made lunch - along with attending to any customers that came by. Occasionally, when it stormed, she would hide in bed or wrap up by the fire - but it was nothing short of a beautiful, early autumn day.

Rounding the staircase, he noticed the door to her study, once her bedroom, was open and the light was off. Not in there. She must still be in bed.

His suspicions were confirmed when he pushed open the door to their room and found his mageling curled up in bed, blankets secure around her, and her teddy bear held tightly in her arms and Ruth sleeping at her feet.

"Hi, Elias," she mumbled softly into her teddy. He flicked on the light and she buried her face into the stuffed animal, tightly closing her eyes.

"My eyes! Turn it off!"

"Oh, sorry," he quickly remedied his error and stepped around the bed to her side. He shrugged off his coat, setting it at the end of the bed next to Ruth and sat on the edge next to her. She turned her body to face his, leaving her bear behind.

"Hey," said Chise, smiling meekly as he brushed her red hair away from her face and rested his hand on her side. "You weren't gone very long."

"Four hours isn't long?"

"What?!" She quickly pushed herself on her elbows and sat up, rubbing an eye. "Oh no, I must have fallen asleep, I would have sworn I've only been up here a few minutes...I just needed to rest a bit. After Silky changed the sheets it looked so comfy….I'm sorry," she pulled the blanket off and went to get down when he put a hand up, effectively keeping her in place.

"Do you feel well?" he asked. She cast her gaze down to her fingers, fiddling with them.

"Yeah," she mumbled back. "I'm fine."

"She's not," Ruth said, a touch of annoyance decorating his voice. He'd rather not have been woken up; sleep kept him from feeling the pain.

"Ruth!" Chise hissed. "It's not a big deal. I'm fine."

"Chi-"

" I'm not!" The black dog groaned with huff, interjecting over Elias' concern. "And neither are you. Tell your husband what's wrong so he can fix you and subsequently me , before I tell him myself." Chise narrowed her eyes at him then looked to Elias who was staring at her, arms crossed.

"I'm fine, okay? Honestly. It's just a little cramping. Someone is just being a big baby about it."

"It's never been this bad before, maybe something is wrong."

"It's normal, Ruth, it just happens like this sometimes. I'm sorry!" She threw her arms up at him, frustrated and growing tired of his complaining.

"Normal? What-"

"Nothing this painful can be normal! That was a ridiculous amount of blood too, I don't know how this one is still oblivious to it, you could smell it a mile away."

"RUTH!" Chise covered her face, embarrassed.

"Blood?!" Elias silently gasped before putting two and two together. Sleepiness, cramping, blood. He was starting to see the big picture. He looked at Chise still hiding her reddened face in her hands. He could tell she was experiencing embarrassment by her reaction but he couldn't see why. After all, this is something all women go through. He and even Chise have made remedies dozens of times for the women in the village. "So you're menstruating. Why didn't you say so?"

Menstruating. The word slid out of Elias and circled her like a serpent, creeping up her back and making her shudder. Ugh . Why did he have to say it like that? She threw herself backward and pulled the blanket up over her face.

"Chise," he sighed, tugging the blanket down only to be met with a whine and the blanket being pulled back up. "Why are you embarrassed? You said yourself this is normal. Every month, an adult human female's uterus will-"

"I know what happens!" she yelled her muffled retort through the blanket. "It's just private, okay?" God, this is the worst.

He took a moment to rest there beside her, not saying anything further, not wanting to upset her. He contemplated what he could say to make her feel better, but everything that came to mind only seemed like it would further disturb her. She never really spoke about this in the past, even when he knew she was going through it - he could sense the subtle changes about her. She would be slightly more irritable, she would take more time to do simple tasks, sometimes being clumsy in doing so, she would be quick to retire at night, her voice changed, and she bathed more often yet despite bathing her scent was also different.

The differences were nearly muted but they were part of her - to which he found himself very in-tune. He would always give her the space she needed for it, wouldn't question when she asked for money to go into town by herself to 'pick up a few things,' wouldn't pry. He had never been privy to the inner workings of a woman, well, of anyone else for that matter. Assuming it was nothing to talk about - he never did. Yet, still, she hadn't been this taken by her monthly cycle, even when it wasn't exactly monthly or regular, she was still able to function as normal. Ruth had certainly never complained. He wondered if perhaps something was wrong.

Chise felt the bed shift as Elias stood up. She heard his footsteps grow faint and poked her head out from under the blanket just in time to see him leave the room. Great , she thought, I didn't want him to leave. Thanks, Ruth.

Her familiar wiggled his way under the covers up to her and rested his head in the crook of her arm, sighing as he did so. She replied with a sigh of her own and pet him on the head, running her fingers through his soft and silky fur. "It hurts," he said, apologetically.

"I know," she whispered. It was true he never did complain in the past about it, though she'd only really gone through his a handful of times. Before she had put herself up for sale, her periods were few and far between, probably caused by how sick she constantly was from malnourishment. Eventually they just stopped altogether until about the third or fourth month after Elias bought her. Now, they were still irregular but mostly light and easily managed. This was the first time in a long time she ever felt this bad. As far as she knew, this time around still was completely normal but that didn't stop the pain and it didn't stop the embarrassment that came with it. At least Elias didn't push it with her, though she wondered if perhaps she pushed him away, maybe hurt him by hiding or not talking to him about it. He never asked her in the past so she assumed he either didn't know or didn't care, which was perfectly fine by her. This, after all, was a private matter.

She was going to have to face the music eventually, she figured, might as well get it over with. After lying there a moment longer, she sighed and rubbed her eyes once more. Throwing the blanket off her and wiggling out from under Ruth, she swung her legs off the side of the bed and slid off, bracing herself with her arm on the bed as a rush of blood hit her head, making it throb. A whimper fell from Ruth as he stood to his feet wearily, spun in a circle twice and curled back up where she had just been laying. Chise rubbed her temples as she moped out of the room and down the stairs to find Elias, who was sitting at the small table in the living room with various materials and reagents spread about before him. The curtains were drawn open and the bright light of the early afternoon blasted in through the windows, warming the room and creating a yellow-white hue in the air.

Chise stood in the doorway and watched him work intently, each movement methodical and careful, yet swift and thoughtful, as if he'd done this hundreds of times before (though she supposed he probably had) - as if he could do this in his sleep. Her stomach sank when she approached him and found her to-do list placed on the table. He was doing her orders. On one hand she was relieved she wasn't going to have to do them, on the other she felt guilty that he was. She never liked shirking her duties, especially when it meant those duties falling on someone else.

"You should have stayed in bed," the Magus said, measuring a dropper of a thick yellow tinged oil, focused on his work. Chise set her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands, watching him, feeling drained from the walk downstairs.

"I wanted to make sure I didn't upset you," she sighed. Elias briefly looked over at her before returning to his work.

"Of course you didn't," he opened a canister of grated ginger, filling the room with the fresh, sharp scent, dropping a measured spoonful into the small wooden bowl in front of him.

"I'm glad," she watched as he continued to work, always in wonder at his magic. She'd heard people talk about how beautiful it was, and while she agreed, it wasn't until she saw many others use magic that she grew to appreciate how different his was. In fact, both of their magic was quite different from others. She supposed hers was beautiful too, but she rarely had the opportunity to sit back and observe her magic. Right now, she just enjoyed her opportunity to watch her teacher do what he did best.

After he finished, he stood and disappeared to the kitchen, returning seconds later with a cup of freshly brewed tea which he must have already had brewing. He dropped his solution into the tea, stirred it gently and set it before Chise, taking his seat again and readying his space to make another.

The redhead looked down to her tea and spotted her reflection. Dark circles feel under her eyes and her skin was peaked. She raised the drink and took a careful sip, no longer wishing to see herself as she looked as bad as she felt.

It's so...good, she thought, taking in more. It was naturally sweet, floral and with a hint of earthiness that tingled down her throat and warmed her core.

"I was going to do those today Elias, you don't have to do that," she nodded to the list.

"It's no problem," he spoke without looking up, focusing his magic on a glass jar, the substance inside turning from a gelatinous blue goo to a clear liquid.

"What are you making?" She asked curiously, unfamiliar with his ingredient combination or methods. This certainly wasn't on her list.

Still focused on his work, he extracted the milk of a flower and added it to the liquid. "This morning I had a consultation with the Oliver's, the family that moved to town a few weeks ago. It seems their children are having night terrors," he dropped one powder followed by another into the mix and swirled the jar, a light foam appearing at the top. "I actually was just out for a walk since I couldn't sleep, I didn't expect to see them. Could you pass me that lavender, please?"

"Huh? Oh," she passed him the sprig that sat in front of her and he plucked several petals, dropping them into the foam. The violet petals fizzled and steamed as they dissolved into the solution, the fragrant scent dancing with the aroma of ginger still lingering in the air. She sipped away the rest of her tea and set the cup down softly, eyes at his hands which were emitting a swirl of blue Iight that pulsed and sparkled when he held the glass jar in his hands.

"What's a night terror?" She asked, licking a droplet of tea off her top lip.

"It's like a nightmare," he looked up at her, breaking his focus for a second too long. The solution within the jar thickened and melted into a black colored tar like substance. With a heavy sigh, he sat the jar on the table.

"Oh, Elias, I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to distract you," she nervously hung her head, somehow ready for him to start lecturing her. Instead, he leaned over and pulled her onto his lap, her back against his stomach.

"It's okay, this can be easy to mess up, even for me. Let me use the opportunity to teach you this one. It's a bit advanced, so just watch for now, okay?"

She nodded, her cheeks turning from her pale white to a rosy pink color as she felt his hot breath kiss her neck. He leaned over her shoulder and went over each ingredient and reagent needed, when and how to use magic, recreating what he had just done. She listened to Elias, and while his explanations were easy to understand, she couldn't focus on his words but the sound of his voice: the way it raised and lowered like a melody as he described his process like a child describing his favorite superheros. It was almost entrancing, deep and rhythmic but coated in passion, taking her on a journey from the start of his instruction to the end.

She listened to his voice and watched his hands move with just as much precision and care as before. She felt his warmth soothe her sore back, felt how her small thighs met with his and how his arms wrapped around her in almost an embrace. She wondered, silently, if some day she would be able to perform magic this way, but didn't mind if she never moved from this spot - if she were honest with herself.

"...and that's why you have to focus on timing here. Do you understand?" he asked her, setting down his successfully made potion. She relaxed her body and sank further back and into him.

"Mmhmm," Chise hummed, nodding. Elias wrapped his arms around her midsection softly and nuzzled her forehead.

"Do you feel better?"

Chise blinked. Did she? To her surprise, her pains were gone. In fact, she had stopped feeling discomfort before he'd even pulled her to him. "I do. I should have made some when I sold the last batch, I didn't think I'd need it," she rested her hands on top of his and gazed out the window, seeing dark clouds forming in the horizon.

"As long as you're feeling better now, no worries," the Magus said, keeping still, his hands on her abdomen, feeling and hearing the twisting and churning taking place deep inside her. They sat that way for a few moments before he broke the silence.

"What does it feel like?"

"What does what feel like?" Her eyes were now closed, comfortable sitting this way and comfortable letting the warmth of his hands permeate her lower abdomen and soothe her ache even further.

"This," he softly tapped her belly.

Oh. That.

"Umm…" she looked up at him, not sure how to respond. He wore an expression in his eyes of pure curiosity with a hint of a plea, tugging at her heartstrings. "Why do you want to know?" It wasn't like he was suddenly going to sprout ovaries or anything.

"To better understand what you're going through," he said. "As your teacher, husband, and guardian it is my duty to protect you, keep you well and healthy, and guide you. Yet, as time goes by, I'm finding more things that seem to drive me away from being able to do what you should rely on me for. I cannot protect you from this, and while it is a sign of your health, it causes you pain. And my not experiencing anything like this myself...well, I am unable to guide you. So, I wonder," he leaned back and looked upwards. "I wonder if there is some way I can relate, some way to empathise."

The mageling swallowed hard and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. She leaned her head back, resting just by his neck, and thought about her next words carefully.

"It feels like my insides are trying to break out of me," she paused, taking his hand in hers and guiding it a few inches lower. "From there, to here. It's all types of pains in one. It's - it's hard to describe honestly. You kind of have to experience one to really know." That wasn't so bad. Elias rubbed her stomach softly and let out a concerned hum.

"I can't say I know what that feels like. Whenever my 'insides' move is when I'm changing shape. And that isn't what I would call painful."

"Hmm," this time Chise hummed and an idea popped into her head. "Remember when I first met Angelica and she punched you?"

"Unfortunately."

"Well imagine that pain, only always there. Never going away," Chise explained. "At least not for maybe a week."

Chise could feel his body under her stiffen while he recalled the pain of such an occurrence.

"That cannot be true," his voice was of utter shock. "How could one even function under such distress?"

Chise shrugged, "it's true, and we just do."

"And you're certain there's nothing wrong? Perhaps a visit to a doctor would sort this out."

"No," she turned herself in his lap, her legs crossing his, and looked up at him. "I don't need a doctor, I promise. Besides, you fixed me up better than any doctor would. I'm pretty much pain free."

"I'll believe you for now," he stood up, setting her down and placing his hands at his hips. "But if there are any changes I want you to tell me right away. Do you understand?"

Chise nodded, feeling small next to him. He picked up the jar he'd been working on earlier and tightened a lid around the top.

"Good," he handed the jar to her. "We'll finish the rest later. Are you well enough to walk into town with me?"

Chise smiled, "I am."

"Great, because I have to deliver this and I really don't want to deal with the children again. It was exhausting this morning."

"Was it?" Chise chuckled. "You should have taken me with you, I could have done the consultation too, you know."

"I didn't know I'd be doing it, they just stopped me and I had no choice. It was like I was taken hostage. It was horrible."

"Aww, I'm sorry," she patted his arm. "Want me to deal with the children?"

"Please."


End file.
